Supression
by tashaxxx
Summary: Modern AU where mutants have been out for years
1. Chapter 1

**This is completely AU **

Mutants were hated. They had been ever since the humans had found out about their existence. At first it hadn't been overly terrible, mostly attacks at random in streets. Then the government had started the mutant regulations act, where every mutant had to be named and categorized. There were those who refused and some even managed to stay hidden but the majority were found.

Compared to what came next, though, this wasn't overly terrible. When the government found out about certain mutant powers they had their scientists create a mutant suppression device that was compulsory to mutants.

It was like that for years, every mutant being forced to wear this. At least that was before pictures of hundreds of dead mutant children were shown. While most humans didn't care for mutants the pictures of dead children forced the government to change tactic, if only to keep the confidence of the general public.

Mutants were still forced to tell the government of their existence but they stopped tagging them with the collars. Now only the most dangerous were forced to wear them, those with more power than the humans thought they should have. The experiments continued but this time they were cleverer at hiding them so no one saw the bodies of dead mutants and no one questioned when a mutant they knew disappeared one night.

…..

Charles didn't know what to expect as the taxi pulled up outside the apartment building. The taxi driver helped him out and back into his wheelchair, pushing Charles' suitcase into the younger man's hand. Reflecting on it, Charles thought it was a little sad that he could fit all of his belongings in the small case.

The apartment wasn't anything he was used to, having grown up in a mansion but this would maybe allow Charles the independence he'd been denied for years. Pulling up his coat to hide the collar, Charles manoeuvred the wheelchair up the front steps.

"You're the new tenant?" A large hulking man asked Charles when the younger man rang the bell to the door. That had been a little difficult considering he was sat in a chair and the bell was a little too high for him to reach.

"Yes, Charles Xavier." Charles replied, keeping his tone level even as the man looked at the collar at his throat. His hands went to it involuntarily as the man looked him over. It was at times like this that Charles wished he still had his powers because at least then he would be able to hear what this man was thinking. Though he thought he could guess from the way the man frowned at the wheelchair.

"Logan." The man said, surprising Charles with a name. "You've got room 100 on the first floor, opposite me and if I hear anything untoward in the night your out." Charles nodded, shying away from the rough voice of his new landlord. "I don't care what you get up to in your free time but I don't want any trouble in this building." Once more Charles nodded, nervousness building up.

Logan handed him his key, grunting once before leaving Charles in the hallway. Charles couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as he watched the man walk into his own apartment. Running a hand through his hair, Charles positioned his suitcase so it was lying flat on his lap as he wheeled over to the door.

A loud bang came from the stairs, causing Charles to jump a little and the suitcase to fall from his lap. The lock clicked open and his belongings fell out. Blushing, Charles went to pick it up. Another bang followed as Charles bent in the chair to pick up his clothes and shove them inside his suitcase again.

"Hey, can I help?" A young man with blonde hair bent down next to Charles, helping to collect the clothes and put them back in the suitcase. "You new here?" Charles nodded, taking the case from the stranger's hands. "I'm Alex Summers. You need any help getting the rest of your stuff in?"

"Erm, there isn't anything else to bring in. I'm Charles by the way. Charles Xavier." Remembering the manners his Mother had taught him, Charles offered Alex a hand. The younger man frowned a little but shook it anyway.

"Are you a mutant?" Charles felt his eyes go downcast a little at that statement. It would seem that Alex had spotted the collar. "Cool, I am too. But I didn't think they still used those things." There was an underlying anger in Alex's tone but Charles chose to ignore the statement altogether. He hadn't expected to meet another mutant though and he felt curiosity well up a little, wondering what Alex could do.

"It was nice to meet you but I should."

"Sure." Alex said, realising what Charles was meaning. "If you need anything I'm on the second floor so just…I don't know shout." Before Charles could say anything else Alex was gone, leaving Charles once more along in the hallway.

Thankfully the key hole to the flat was at a level Charles could easily reach in his wheelchair. The apartment was sparse, with a kitchen/living room. There was a couch and the kitchen had an oven. Everything else Charles would have to buy. He supposed it was a good thing he still had access to some of his families money. Well, it was really his money now both his parents were dead but his step-father only allowed him a small allowance of it and Charles wasn't in any position to fight him on it. Any other money he needed he could make up by tutoring people. He was a Professor after all. Though he didn't know what parent would let him tutor there kid, seeing as he was wearing a suppression collar.

Unpacking his belongings was a little sad and showed Charles that he really didn't have much. There were a few books he'd managed to grab from the mansion, mainly his Fathers' books. The rest was just clothes that had seen better days. The bedroom had a bed so Charles didn't need to worry about sleeping on the decidedly uncomfortable looking couch.

He wasn't overly hungry so he decided to just get some sleep and go shopping the next day. Anyway, it was getting a little late and there wouldn't be any shops open at this time.

…**.**

The next day, Charles managed to make himself shower and dressed. He found a scarf that would cover the collar and felt a little better at not being able to see it. Mornings were always worse than any other time. He generally woke up, expecting to hear the thoughts of people around him instead he felt blackness. Feeling suddenly alone, Charles grabbed his keys and manoeuvred the wheelchair out of the building.

Shopping was difficult in the chair as he couldn't actually get anywhere easily or by himself but he managed to get the essentials. He didn't bother ordering a taxi this time, just using the control on his wheelchair arm to get back to the apartment, although by the time he got back the supplies weren't staying put.

"Hey Charles." Alex shouted as the younger man raced down the stairs. Another man, Charles guessed to be around the same age as Alex followed closely behind. "This is Sean, he rooms with me." He introduced the red-head and Charles nodded his head in a polite way.

"What do you do?" Sean's question startled Charles a little, the Professor not having expected his neighbours to take any note of him.

"I'm a Professor." Charles replied, a little self-consciously. He remembered the conversation he'd previously had with Alex and wondered if the mutant had told his friend about him.

Sean's' eyes lit up at that and Alex grinned at the confused look crossing Charles face. "You got a job right now, 'cos I could do with a tutor. I'll pay." Charles was a little surprised at the offer of a job but he nodded his head in agreement anyway. "Brilliant, when can you start because I have this test coming up in a few days? Is tomorrow alright?"

The questions were a little dizzying. "Yes, tomorrow's fine. How about 10?" Sean quickly agreed and Charles was still a little stunned at the speed of that as Sean detailed what he needed to learn.

"Have you met Hank yet?" Alex said when Sean finished. "He lives upstairs with Raven. You should introduce yourself, you'll get on brilliantly."

"We better get going Alex." Sean interrupted before Charles could answer so he said a quick goodbye before the two were out of the apartment building.

Still feeling a little disorientated, Charles let himself through his front door, considering that maybe this wouldn't be such a bad change after all.

**Hopefully you enjoyed and please review :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Erik had owned the local café for a few years now, although that had been more out of necessity than anything else. He was a mutant and could be considered a radical when it came to mutant rights, being always one of the first to fight for their rights. Of course that didn't necessarily mean in a political way.

When he had been a small child he had been experimented on until eventually getting out. Even then, being free of his tormentors, things didn't look up until he killed Shaw. After that, Erik was able to focus himself on helping mutants more effectively. He used his powers to good use and while some of the mutants around this area didn't always agree with him they did help when it came down to breaking into secret labs.

He'd bought the café as a sort of base at first, before realising that he couldn't actually help mutants when Erik didn't have any money for himself. So he opened the café up, selling coffee wasn't exactly thrilling but it kept the money coming in so he could actually fund his crusade so to speak.

In all, he had three barristers, all mutants and all in college. Alex, Sean and Raven worked around their college schedules and on occasion helped him with his other activities, though Raven was the only one to agree with his radical views. He had a few other servers, humans for the most part, though Erik didn't have a choice in the matter even if he did hate it.

Right now, Raven and Alex were working and Sean was sitting in the café with a newbie. Alex had mentioned to Raven this man had moved into their apartment and Sean had apparently forced him into helping him study.

Usually, Erik wouldn't give a damn about newbie's but this one was interesting. He was sitting in a wheelchair and the soft features would make Erik think of the man as being weak if not for the sharp blue eyes. They spoke of intelligence and Erik wondered why a man like that was here of all places and not in some university. At least, that was until he caught the feeling of metal around the mans' neck. A suppression collar. It spiked Erik's interest because they were so rare nowadays, being reserved only for what the government deemed as the most dangerous mutants. Seeing it, Erik was curious as to what this man could do that scared the humans so much.

…

Charles had been apprehensive about coming to meet Sean at the café but now sitting opposite the younger man, Charles felt relaxed. He had a cup of tea at his side as he explained something to Sean. The younger man would occasionally ask questions but otherwise let Charles talk. Charles had always wanted to teach but had lost hope of ever doing it again until now. The scarf was still wrapped around his neck, even in the heat of the café.

"Don't you want to take it off, Professor?" Sean asked when there was a drop in conversation. Charles self-consciously touched the fabric before shaking his head.

"It's a little cold." Sean didn't reply as he bent his head back down to his book. Letting his eyes roam over the room, Charles spotted Alex talking with a blonde headed girl Sean had introduced as Raven. However, when his eyes fell onto a new figure at the cash machine, Charles felt unease creep up. The man was tall and rather intimidating and his eyes were fixed on him.

Sean must have noticed because he said, "That's Erik Lehnsherr. He owns this place." Charles frowned again, feeling the loss of his telepathy. If he had it Charles would already know this. And then he would also know why Erik was staring at him.

When 12 'o' clock came around, Sean apologised, saying he needed to go and work now. "How much do you want?"

"Nothing, it's fine." Sean protested and pressed a twenty dollar bill into Charles' hands. Charles wanted to protest but the younger man had already disappeared. Resigning himself to that fact, Charles pulled out a paper and pen. He'd usually do this at home but being around people for a change was nice, even if he could see the pitying stares from some of the café goers.

When Charles' cup was empty, he was just about to go and get some more when a tall figure appeared at the opposite end of the table. "Can I sit?"

"You brought tea so yes." Charles joked but secretly he was on edge, not knowing what the taller man wanted from him.

"What are you working on?" Erik asked, motioning to the papers' scattered on the table. Charles went to grab the paper but Erik picked one up at random. "Mutation?" There was a hint of anger there and Charles felt extremely uncertain about that.

"I did my thesis on mutations and my degree's on mutation." Charles said, defensively which gained a raised eyebrow from Erik.

"You must be good if you can get Banshee to sit down for longer than 5 minutes and study."

"Banshee?" Charles asked, confused at the nickname and once more hating that he couldn't read the other mans' mind. Erik didn't seem to want to reply as he kept silent. The silence was starting to become stifling so Charles placed the paper in his bag and said, "I think I should be heading home."

"You're mutant." Erik's words were whispered but Charles still violently flinched, scanning the crowded café to see if anyone had heard. They hadn't. "Don't worry, I don't let any mutant haters here."

"How did you know?" Charles asked, a little shocked as he wondered if Alex had said something about the collar.

"I felt the metal at your throat." Erik replied simply and Charles' mind whirled.

"You're one too?" He hadn't known many mutants and now he'd met two in as many days.

"As is Raven and Sean." Charles frowned.

"You don't wear collars?" Erik let out a laugh then.

"Very few of us have to and most of us aren't common knowledge to the government." As he said this, Erik seemed to be gaging Charles' reaction. He purposefully kept a neutral face as he went through what Erik had said. Charles knew most mutants didn't have to wear the collars, not unless they were dangerous but he hadn't heard of mutants who weren't known by the government before now.

"I won't tell anyone." Erik seemed satisfied by this as he settled back in his chair. Charles took a sip of the tea, debating on what to say next while not wanting to be the one to break the silence.

"The collar, I can take it off." Charles froze at Erik's words. He wanted it off, wanted to hear the thoughts around him again. But at the same time he knew he couldn't take it off, not without anyone finding out. And his power was dangerous. Charles had seen the terror of his power first hand and never wanted to re-live it again.

"I can't." Erik frowned and Charles sensed the anger rolling from him in waves. Even without the telepathy it was obvious. "I have to go."

Charles quickly wheeled the chair away from the table, barley avoiding knocking over Raven as he went by. She shouted something but Charles ignored her as he manoeuvred the wheelchair back onto the street. He got 5 minutes away from the café before realising he'd left his bag there.

…**.**

"What did you do?" Raven glared angrily at Erik when Charles exited the café. She hadn't thought someone in a wheelchair could go so fast but apparently Charles had just proven her wrong.

"I told him I could take the collar off." Raven frowned. Alex had told her about seeing the collar on Charles so it wasn't surprising hearing Erik say this. What was surprising was Charles' reaction to Erik saying this.

"He left his bag." Raven noted. "I'll go and see if I can catch up to him." She said, seeing as it was her shift end and Charles had just run out on Erik.

Raven caught up to Charles just as the other mutant was turning the corner, obviously going back to retrieve the bag. "Thanks Raven." Charles said, taking the bag from Raven. She guessed he must have thought she was going then because when she grabbed the wheelchair handles he looked a little shocked.

"I'm going home so I was hoping for a little company. Anyway, the boys keep telling me women shouldn't be alone in the big bad city."

"You'd be better off with one of them, not me." Charles said and although it was said in a joking tone, Raven detected something else underlining it.

"How do you like the apartment?" She said, deciding to store that bit of information away rather than act on it. Charles had settled down a little, allowing her to push the chair.

"It's good, though I am a little scarce on stuff." Raven frowned. From the way the young professor dressed she would have thought him to have money, if not fashion sense. Sure his clothes were a little tatty but she could clearly say they'd been tailored or something because there was no way half of the stuff he wore came from the places she shopped.

"Don't you have any family?" She cursed herself silently when Charles went eerily silent. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's fine. My Father and mother are dead." Raven thought it was a little odd he called them Father and mother but didn't comment. What with the posh English accent maybe he was some posh rich guy. But if he was, why was he in this neighbourhood.

"I'm sorry." Charles shrugged in answer. "I'm sorry about Erik as well, he can be a bit intense especially about mutant affairs."

Charles didn't answer straight away and Raven worried that she'd said something wrong so when he finally did answer she let out a sigh of relief. "He said you were a mutant too, what can you do?" She smiled a little, having not come across many people who were curious about her mutation.

"I can change my shape, usually I'm not this pretty."

"I find that hard to believe." Charles replied, honestly, and Raven was sorely tempted to show him her blue form. Except she quite liked Charles' company and knew from experience most people ran a mile when they saw her for who she really was.

"What about you?"

"I'm a telepath." Charles said it somewhat reluctantly. Raven frowned a little, having come across one other telepath before who hadn't needed to wear a collar.

"Why do you wear it?" Raven asked, throwing caution away in replace of her overwhelming curiosity. She hadn't ever come across someone who wore the collar, let alone someone who actively said he wanted it kept on.

"My…my mutation is dangerous." Raven snorted but Charles' sombre tone shut her up quickly. "I miss it, sometimes but I can't control it so it's best to keep it out."

Raven frowned once more but didn't comment. They travelled back to the apartment in silence and Raven hovered at the bottom of the stairs until Charles went fully into his rooms. As he disappeared from view, she decided that she would try to help him.

**Hope you enjoyed and please review. Next chapter will introduce Hank to the story. **


	3. Chapter 3

Hank had heard from Raven about the new professor downstairs but he hadn't felt the need to introduce himself yet. Raven had told him about the collar, which didn't help with Hanks' uneasiness towards the new neighbour. Hank didn't have a mutation that was easily hidden but while he had invented a serum that allowed him to appear normal the results were varying and from what he'd heard about Charles Xavier, Hank didn't think the other man would be overly thrilled at finding out about Hank's blue and furry mutation. Which was why he was surprised to find himself in the Professor's rooms that night.

Raven had gone out for the night and while she had invited hank, the young scientist didn't like to go out to the places Raven did. He'd been silently reading when he heard a loud bang coming from the first floor. Silently at first, Hank had crept down the stairs, curious about where the sound had come from. Usually he'd blame it one Sean or Alex but the two were out and anyway it had come from the ground floor. Quickly, Hank ruled out Logan leaving only the new neighbour.

He was acutely aware of the blue fur covering his body as he knocked at Charles' front door. It was a moment before Charles answered the door. The first thing Hank noticed was that Charles was in a wheelchair, which Raven hadn't mentioned. Charles looked like he was used to it as he wasn't struggled so Hank wondered how long he'd been in it. The second thing he saw was the collar that stood strikingly against the pale skin of the other mutant.

Charles' eyes had gone a little wide at the sight of Hank, making the scientist feel a little self-conscious. "Sorry, I heard a bang."

A blush made its' way up Charles' face when Hank said that. "Oh, erm sorry for disturbing you."

"That's fine." Hank quickly said, feeling a little guilt at causing Charles to think he'd done something wrong. "Raven's gone out for the night so do you want to…" he trailed off there, not sure as to why he was saying that.

"Do you want to come in? I have coffee or you could just…." Charles seemed equally unsure of himself.

"Coffee would be great, thanks. If you don't mind."

…

Charles didn't mind. In fact he was extremely curious about the blue, furred man at his doorway. "I'm Charles Xavier by the way." He said as he made the coffee.

"Hank McCoy." The other man introduced himself and Charles smiled a little at him. Hank seemed nervous, almost as nervous as Charles himself felt so he decided he would try to make the younger man feel more comfortable. "Raven says you're a Professor." Charles was sure that wasn't all Raven had said but he nodded anyway. "I'm a Doctor."

That perked Charles' interest as he asked what hank specialised in. Soon the two were talking rapidly about science, there previous nervousness gone. "So you and Raven are dating?" Charles asked, the conversation of science having run its' coarse a little. That and he was generally curious.

"Yeah." Hank replied and Charles grinned at that. "She's the first person to not mind the…"

"The blue fur." Charles supplied, feeling guilty when Hank ducked his head in embarrassment. "No wonder she doesn't mind it, it's quite spectacular."

"I made a serum that makes me look normal." Hank suddenly said and Charles frowned, his thoughts going to the hospitals and tests that were done to control his mutation. "It doesn't affect my abilities just makes me look normal." Charles nodded his head in understanding. He may not be covered in blue fur but he did have his own problems in the form of the chair that made everyone see him as someone who needed help and the collar that kept most people away.

Finally, they had to call it a night but the two promised to meet up again at some point. Charles had actually enjoyed the company, especially talking with someone who was interested in the same things as he was.

He fell asleep with a smile on his lips that night but he should have known his good mood was too good to last.

…**.**

Erik had been on the track of a one of the mutant experiment labs for around a month now and had finally found the exact place it was. Closing the shop earlier than usual was easy enough, though getting a hold of the mutants willing to help was a little harder. Eventually, Alex, Sean, Raven, Darwin (a college friend of Alex and Sean's'), Hank and Azazel (a teleporting mutant who had started working for Erik when Shaw was killed) where standing in the staff room of the café.

In truth, Erik had been a little out of sorts ever since meeting Charles Xavier and this attack would be a welcome distraction from those thoughts. He hadn't directly asked any of the kids about Charles but he had listened when Charles was the topic of their conversation. Erik had been debating on whether to ask them why Charles hadn't been near the café since the first time but decided against it.

"Boss?" Azazel's voice pulled Erik from his thoughts and he turned to the red mutant.

"We know what we have to do?" Erik asked, getting conformation from the group of mutants in front of him. There couldn't be any mistakes.

…**.**

Azazel teleported them to just outside of the facility while Erik sent Raven in ahead. The blue mutants' job was to get them access, something her gift was uniquely brilliant for. It didn't take 5 minutes for her to open the doors and the group of mutants went inside. Erik and Azazel took care of the guards while the younger mutants released those captured. Hank especially was invaluable in dealing with the more seriously injured kids.

Erik felt the metal hum around him as the guards shot there metal bullets. It was almost laughable how easy it was for him to deflect them away. An alarm went off somewhere in the building but by now it would be too late. In the distance he could hear the scrambling feet of mutants being freed and new that that job was done.

Between himself and Azazel, they finished off the guards and scientists in record time. Walking into the research lab, Erik had a sudden thought of being a child stuck in Shaw's lab again but he quickly pushed it aside. There wasn't any point in dwelling in the past.

"Mystique found something." Alex told Erik when they entered the room. Hank was working on a few injured mutants and Erik motioned for Azazel to teleport those injured to a hospital, preferably a hundred miles away from here.

When he was done with this, he walked into the office where Raven was standing. There were dead bodies littering the floor and Erik saw that a number of them weren't human but mutants. It was saddening to see and only made his anger higher, especially when he saw the body of dead child lying among the soldiers.

"Havoc said you found something." Erik said as he surveyed the room. It was just like any doctor's office, though with a few more lethal looking tools and far too many books.

"The Doctor wasn't here but I got a name." Erik nodded, thinking of how he could track this man down and hurt him. "His name's Mark Warren." She was reading through a personnel file as she said this.

"Any family?" Erik asked.

"A son named Christopher Warren." Raven replied, flicking onto a page that must detail the mans' family. Her eyes widened a little as she read on, however, peaking Erik's interest. "Apparently he remarried though and his new wife died in an accident."

"What was her name?" Erik was wondering why Raven was mentioning this, it wasn't like they usually checked on all of the human doctors' family.

"Alice Xavier Warren. Her son is Charles Xavier."

"As in the Charles that lives in the building?" Erik asked, unbelievingly. He knew next to nothing about Charles but hearing his name crop up in the search of a doctors' office, a doctor who experimented on mutants no less, was surprising and not a little disturbing considering the situation with the suppression collar. "What happened to the mother?"

"It doesn't say." Raven replied and Erik couldn't help but be a little disappointed.

"Could I have the file." Ravel handed it to him wordlessly. "Don't mention this to the others." "

"Not even Hank?" Erik shook his head.

"It's best if we keep it to ourselves until we know more." Erik replied, thankful when Raven agreed. He was still a little shocked, knowing this seemed to make so much of Charles' actions understandable. Resolving to talk to the other mutant at some point, Erik followed Raven out of the office, still clutching the file in his hand.

**Hope you enjoyed and please review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the reviews, favourites, follows and everyone who reads this story **

Charles had been living in the building for a little over a month now and in that time he had never been happier. He had grown to enjoy the company of Hank and Raven, thriving on putting his degree to good use teaching Alex and Sean, and occasionally Alex's younger brother Scott. It had been so long since Charles had had friends that he had almost forgotten what it felt like but now he realised what he'd been missing.

There was something else that Charles found strange, however, and that was that the apartment was full of mutants. He knew about Raven, Hank and Alex before this but he'd also learnt that Sean was a mutant as well as Logan and Darwin and Angel (the other two inhabitants of the building).

Then there was Erik. Charles wasn't exactly afraid of the man he just didn't understand him. Without the telepathy, Charles couldn't understand what Erik's purpose was, what he wanted in life. From the small bits that Alex and Sean told him, he knew that Erik was very anti-human but at the same time Charles couldn't understand Erik. He was an enigma and after so long knowing the ins and outs of people it was rather disorientating. While Charles had only spoke to the man once, he couldn't avoid the tall met manipulating mutant when they lived in the same building so Charles was forced to see him at least once a week. Yet, Charles had no desire to talk or become friends with him like he had with the other mutants, bar Logan. Maybe that had something to do with the first and last discussion they had had about Charles' collar. And yet Charles wanted to talk to Erik because the other mutant had seemed interesting. But Charles didn't want to discuss the collar or why he wore it so he found it just easier to avoid Erik altogether.

A nearly empty bottle of scotch sat at his elbow and he was starting to feel a little dizzy, though it didn't stop him from taking another drink. He'd never understood, as a child, why his Mother drank so much after his Father died. Charles had done a lot to try and stop her from drinking so much, eventually that had cost his Mothers' life. She'd never been a warm woman, always distant but Charles did still miss her. Now, he thought he understood her need to drink so much. To forget some of the bad things if only for a little while. Anyway, the pleasant buzz of alcohol was surprisingly calming to the young telepath.

…

At some point, Charles must have dozed off because he woke up to the sun shining through the curtains and a pounding headache. Groaning, Charles heard the knock that must have woken him up. Hesitantly, Charles rolled the chair over to the front door and opened it. Erik stood in front of him. "What happened to you?" Charles frowned before realising he probably stunk of alcohol.

"Can I help you with something?" Charles asked, a little angry at being disturbed by the man.

"Can I come in?" He hesitated for a moment but it didn't seem to matter as his chair moved backwards to allow Erik to step inside. "That's your power?"

"If you mean I can control metal, yes." A smile appeared at Erik's lips at the question.

"Do you want coffee or something?"

"I'll get it." Erik went to stand up before Charles could argue.

"I am capable of getting it."

"I'm sure you are but right now you smell of alcohol and probably have a hangover so I'll get it." Charles couldn't argue with that so he simply allowed Erik to make two cups of coffee. He handed Charles a cup and he sniffed it. "I don't like coffee."

"It's good for hangovers." Erik replied. They fell into silence as the two drank the coffee and Charles frowned, having expected a reason as to why Erik of all people was here at this time of the morning. Erik's gaze was fixed on him and it was starting to make him feel a little uncomfortable. "I think we got off on the wrong foot." Erik finally said. "Raven tells me I can be a bit overbearing."

Charles raised an eyebrow, having not expected this conversation. "I don't blame you for what you said. I do understand that the collar is…strange for people to understand."

"Perhaps you can explain it to me then. Why do you wear it?" Erik asked and Charles fiddled with a loose piece of thread on his cardigan absentmindedly.

"They'd know if it was taken off."

"That can be rectified, Hank is brilliant with that sort of technology." Erik replied, having seen the things that Hank had invented he was sure this problem could be easily solved.

"It's dangerous. My mutation." Charles mumbled and Erik frowned, wondering why Charles was being difficult in this. He wanted to keep on questioning the younger man but he also remembered what Raven had told him about not pushing Charles too far so reluctantly he nodded his head.

"What is your mutation?" Charles looked up at Erik then, meeting his eyes and Erik was taken aback for a moment at the brilliance and intelligence in them.

"I'm a telepath."

"I knew a telepath once." Erik said, recalling Emma Frost who had worked with Shaw. This spiked Charles' interest as his eyes widened a little but other than that he didn't say anything. Erik frowned again.

"Do you play chess?" Charles asked suddenly, making Erik frown. He did play chess but he hadn't expected that question. "Would you like to play?"

Soon Erik found himself sitting opposite Charles, moving the black pieces of a rather expensive looking chess board. This made him frown a little. He'd done some research on the Xavier's after finding the lab yesterday and to his knowledge the Xavier's were very rich and both parents were dead, meaning Charles was the sole heir to the fortune. Except here he was, playing chess in a rundown old building with a suppression collar around his throat.

"What's wrong?" Charles asked.

"Why do you think anything's' wrong?" Erik said, considering for a moment that Charles may have gotten a thought from his head.

"It's written all over your face and you're not concentrating." Erik frowned as he looked at the chess board and saw the Charles would win in the next 2 moves.

Deciding to just ask, Erik said: "I looked into your family." Charles froze. "It's something I do for new neighbours to make sure they aren't mutant haters." The younger man relaxed, though only silently. "The Xavier's are rich so I was wondering why you're here?"

Charles was silent for a moment before answering, which Erik hadn't actually expected. "After my Mother died, I wasn't in a good place and my step-father thought it would be best if I went away for a little while."

"So he has control of…" Erik wasn't sure what to call it and he saw that Charles had cringed a little.

"My estate. Yes, it's not something I like to make public." Charles said suddenly and Erik could understand that. "People get the wrong idea sometimes."

"That you're a posh British kid with a silver spoon in his mouth." Charles actually laughed at that, his eyes twinkling as he did so and Erik smiled as well, something he hadn't done in a while.

Charles glanced at the clock then and sighed. "I promised to meet Alex in an hour so is it okay if we continue this conversation some other time."

"Why not come to the cafe later on, free tea." Charles smiled then, a real smile and Erik decided he would make Charles smile more often. It made the younger man look less like he had the world on his shoulders.

"I'd like that Erik, my friend." Charles' tone was more sincere than Erik had thought possible and he decided in that instant that he was going to help the telepath, even if Charles might not seem to realise he needed it Erik was going to help him.

**Please review and hope you enjoyed **


	5. Chapter 5

Logan was pissed. It wasn't his usual angry face as Sean and Alex, annoyingly, called it. No, he was well and truly pissed off. Living with a group of mostly mutant children (even if they were legal leaving home age) had made him tolerant of a lot of thing. Like waking up to drunken kids entering the apartment at god knows what time in the morning or the property damage Hank swears wasn't because he'd turned his apartment into a lab.

In all honesty, Logan actually enjoyed the company of the other mutants, although he wasn't overly sure about Erik and seriously wished the guy wouldn't bring sketchy looking characters back to the apartment. Sean and Alex probably caused him the most trouble, though they knew the line that Logan wouldn't allow to be crossed and generally avoided him. Darwin and Angel were the quieter members of the building, though that didn't stop them getting involved in the noise and general disturbance occasionally. Raven and Hank weren't much trouble either; either that or they just kept their trouble away from Logan. The new neighbour, Charles, had proven to be Logan's best tenant, considering the young professor generally kept away from Logan and out of the trouble caused by the younger kids. Which was why, Logan was surprised that this latest bout of trouble had been caused by Charles.

…**..**

The suits had knocked on his door late Saturday morning, and that of itself had been enough to make Logan gruffer than usual. They showed him a standard government badge, and Logan glared straight at them, wondering which of the kids the one these men were after was. Not that it mattered overly much.

"What do you want, bud?" Logan said, feeling the edges of the metal claws tip underneath his skin.

"We work on behalf of Dr Mark Warren." A growl escaped Logan's' lips and the two suits backed a step away, involuntarily. While Logan didn't go with the other mutants in the house to attack the labs, he still demanded to know what happened so if need be he could step in to help. Mark Warren had been mentioned by Erik as being the one believed to have run the last lab.

"I don't like government scientists on my property." Logan didn't bother trying to keep his intent from his voice.

Suit 1 opened his mouth to continue talking and Logan had to admit the man had balls, if nothing else. "Dr Mark Warren in interested in the progress of his step-son, we're told he lives here." Logan frowned, having not expected a man who experimented on mutants to have one as a step-son. They handed him a picture asking, "Do you know him?"

"Professor Charles Xavier?" Logan was a little confused. The picture was of a younger Charles, who seemed a lot happier than he did now. _Probably because the kid in the picture isn't wearing a suppression collar or in a wheelchair, _Logon thought a little unhappily.

"No mutant should be allowed a degree." Suit 1 muttered and Logan growled fully then, wanting nothing more than to slam the door in their faces. Except while he would relish in the fight, he didn't want it to come into this house what with the younger mutants upstairs.

"Perhaps we can talk to him." Suit 2 asked, though Logan had a feeling it wasn't a request.

"He's out." It wasn't a lie but suit 1 and 2 obviously thought it was.

"Where?"

"I don't keep track of my tenants." Logan snarled, knowing full well where Charles would be. "I'll tell him you called." Before either suit could say anything, Logan slammed the door shut in their faces.

"They were looking for the Prof?" Alex's voice drifted from the bottom of the stairs and Logan turned, fixing the younger with an angry glare. "Sorry." Alex held up his hands in surrender.

"If you heard the conversation, make yourself useful and tell him about it." Logan replied, turning back into his flat and seriously hoping that whatever the suits wanted it wasn't dangerous.

…

After the conversation with Erik, Charles had started coming into the café more and more often, dividing his time between talking with Erik, tutoring Alex, Sean and Scott (Alex's younger brother), talking science with Hank or anything with Raven. Right now, he was sat at the table, alone for once, working on his current thesis.

"Hey Professor." Alex said, sitting in the seat opposite him. Charles sighed; he'd told them to just call him Charles but Alex had insisted.

"What's wrong?" Charles asked, immediately concerned when he saw that Alex wasn't wearing his usual happy smile. From the corner of his eyes, Charles could see that Sean and Darwin were looking over at their table. Raven was working the counter and hadn't noticed, thankfully.

"Some guys in suits came looking for you at the apartment." Charles' paled. "Don't worry, Logan scared them off."

"What did they say?" Charles was attempting to keep the fear and worry from his voice but he could tell from the Alex was watching him that he wasn't succeeding.

"They mentioned your step-father." Alex answered and Charles felt his heart clench at that.

"Okay, thank Alex." Charles didn't need to hear anymore. It was obvious from the way Alex kept opening and closing his mouth that the younger mutant wanted to say something but Charles ignored it, instead he collected his things and went to wheel the chair away from the table.

"You want me to come back with you."

"No, no, thanks Alex I just need to…I have somewhere to be." It was hard for Charles to organise his thoughts. He'd thought he was free from the man. Thought he would leave him alone but apparently not. In all honesty, Charles didn't know what he was going to do, now. Probably have to move again because whenever he knew his step-father and knew he couldn't allow him to find out about his friends.

…

"What was that about?" Sean sat in the seat previously occupied by Charles when he asked this. Darwin pulled a chair up to the table as well.

The crowd had thinned a little so Raven also made her way over to their table, having watched the way Charles exited the building in a lot of haste. "What's wrong with Charles?" She pointedly looked at Alex.

"You remember that lab we busted the other week." Alex asked, leaning in so no one heard him. "The Doctor who ran it, Dr Mark Warren, is looking for Charles."

"Why?" Darwin asked. Raven's eyes had turned her usual yellow when Alex had said that, while Darwin and Sean just looked incredulous.

"He sent two suits to apartment, Logan scared them off but I overhead them say Charles is this Doctors' step-son." Raven didn't even blink and Alex looked at her accusingly, especially after seeing the disbelieving looks that crossed Sean and Darwin's faces. "You knew?" He hissed.

"Erik told me not to say anything. What did they want?" There was a hint of ear in her voice and Alex shrugged because he had no idea.

"You think it has something to do with why he wears that collar." Sean asked.

"Whatever it is, we need to tell Erik." Raven was showing her protective side, something that was strictly reserved for Hank and now, apparently, Charles. The other three mutants nodded their heads in agreement.

…**.**

As soon as Alex had told Erik what he had overheard, Erik had stormed straight to the apartment building. Without bothering to knock, Erik popped the lock of Charles' front door, letting himself in. What met him was a sight he hoped never to see again. Ever.

Charles' belongings were scattered over the place, his one suitcase lying open. The professor himself was sitting on his wheelchair, his brown hair sticking out haphazardly as if he'd been running his hands through it, while his eyes were wild deep blue. Erik's eyes were drawn to the redness of Charles' neck, however, from where the collar seemed to have chafed the skin. Currently, Charles was pulling at it and without a second thought; Erik used the metal in Charles' watch to pull his hand away from the collar.

"What's wrong?" Erik asked but Charles didn't seem to answer. He didn't even seem to realise that Erik was standing there. It was an odd sight, Charles always seeming completely calm and not at all phased by anything. "Charles, you need to stop that Charles." Erik clamped his hand over Charles' hand that was pulling at the collar. The physical contact seemed to bring Charles back to reality as he stopped.

"Erik, what are you doing here?" Erik thought it was completely amazing how easily Charles could pretend nothing was wrong.

"Alex told me about the visitor. I came to see if you were alright."

"You didn't have to. I'm fine." Erik raised an eyebrow, motioning around the room, which caused Charles to drop his eyes to the floor. "It doesn't matter; I'll be out of your way by tomorrow."

"You're moving." Charles nodded and anger bubbled through Erik. "You can't move." The younger mutant looked a little startled at Erik's outburst, who quickly covered his own concern by saying, "The kids would miss you and there's no one else who can talk science with Hank. Also, Logan likes you." Charles actually snorted at that, making Erik grin.

"I find that hard to believe."

"He wouldn't have covered for you if he didn't like you. Anyway, you're the only tenant here who doesn't give him any trouble." Erik supplied. "You have to stay."

Charles only shook his head. "My step-father, he's not exactly tolerant of mutants and if he comes here…I don't want any of you to get hurt because of me."

Erik seethed silently, keeping his face neutral for Charles' sake however. "We can handle ourselves and Raven wouldn't let you go even if you wanted to. You don't want to do you?" Charles shook his head and Erik let out a sigh of relief. "Good." A sudden thought flashed across Erik's mind, the image of the last lab they'd raided and before he could stop himself he found himself asking, "Is you're step-father the one to make you wear that collar?" Charles choked then. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want." Erik quickly covered up his mistake of asking, not wanting to make Charles clam up like the first time they'd spoken. He valued their friendship too much.

"I wish it were that simple, my friend. Really I do." There was a bitterness in Charles' tone that Erik hadn't heard in his friend before.

"The explain it to me."

"I'm afraid it's not a pleasant story."

"I've lived through worse." Erik said, causing a sadness to fall in Charles' eyes. "You don't have to say anything you don't trust me with."

"I want to tell it. I've never told anyone before and I do trust you Erik." Erik felt honoured to hear that. "Take a seat." Charles motioned for Erik to take a seat and he did so, waiting for Charles to start talking.

**Next Chapter will be Charles' past so look forward to that **

**Please review and hope you enjoyed :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**10 Years Old **

The funeral was a blur. Charles was stood next to his Mother, tears running down his cheeks as emotions that weren't all his own ran over him. When the policeman had come to tell them of his Fathers' accident at the lab, Charles had started hearing the voices. At first it was just picking up the emotions of those around him but now, over a week later Charles was hearing the voices.

People were thinking it was such a shame. There were a few who were only there for appearance sakes and Charles could hear that. He wanted to tell them they shouldn't be here but he knew that would be bad. His Mother's mind was in distress and Charles didn't want to leave her like that.

When the funeral was over, Charles ended up in a funeral wake with people coming over to say their apologises. He could count on one hand how many people meant it. Charles said this to his Mother, who told him to behave but Charles could hear the fear in her mind. Thinking the voices were being caused by his Fathers' death, Charles resolved to keep it hidden.

After the funeral, the valet drove them back to the mansion. Charles' Father had always taken him exploring around the sprawling grounds but looking at them now made Charles' heart feel heavy. It didn't help that his mother's mind was giving off a confusing buzz that made Charles feel dizzy.

That night he woke up to feeling his Mother vomiting in her bathroom. He walked in, a little hesitantly. She smiled at him as he cleaned her up and put her in bed. His 10 year old self wanted to crawl in beside her, missing his Father but Charles knew his Mother wouldn't appreciate it so he resigned himself to going back to his own room. Charles didn't think he slept all night.

**13 Years Old**

Things had improved only slightly since his Father died. His mother still seemed to drink herself into a stupor every night but Charles got used to cleaning her up. Charles was smart for his age, so wasn't in his age class in school. This caused problems in school but he'd learnt a few tricks with persuading the bullies to walk away. The telepathy seemed to have advanced over the years but he was still careful to keep it hidden, especially after reading the papers on what was happening to the mutants. Sometimes he slipped up but that was alright, he'd learnt he could make people forget hearing that or persuade them into thinking they'd said it out loud instead.

His Mother met Dr Mark Warren that year and within 6 months they were married. It was a strange sensation for Charles, having to get used to a new type of person. He'd thought his new step-brother, Marks son Christopher, would be a good friend. Charles had been wrong. Christopher thought Charles made him look stupid, him being older than Charles, so he tended to pick on him. Charles had gone to his Mother then but she ignored him.

Mark was nearly as bad as well. Charles had read his mind and saw the man didn't love his Mother, saw her as a impressionable rich widow really. The young telepath had tried to tell his Mother this but she ignored him but he did see her drinking had increased.

Sometimes Charles made his mother stop drinking with the telepathy but that made her sick. Withdrawal, Charles had read it somewhere before. This stopped Charles from doing this too often but it didn't stop the thoughts of making his Mother stop completely. He'd debated on using his mutation to make his step-family leave but the way Mark sometimes looked at Charles made him stop. He knew the man hated mutants and Charles didn't want to know what mark might do if he ever found out about Charles' gift.

**15 years old**

Charles was sick of his step-brothers' taunts so the next time Christopher called him a name he pushed him. It was stupid, really, Christopher being stronger than him. The older boy had pushed him back and Charles had tripped over a chair, landing on the window ledge up on one of the higher levels of the mansion.

The thoughts that ran through Christopher's mind then made Charles feel sick. He tried to stop Christopher thinking them but the fear seemed to freeze his gift momentarily as before he knew it, Christopher had shoved him backwards straight through the glass window. The glass shattered and Charles tried to grab onto anything but he couldn't. Hitting the ground, Charles didn't think he'd felt so much agony in his life as he lay there on his back, looking up at the sight of his step-brother's faint figure looking down at him.

When Charles woke up a week later in the hospital, he was bombarded with minds and it was the first time since his Fathers' death that he called out for the man. Instead he got a Doctor, who told him he would never walk again. No one visited and when he finally returned to the mansion, nearly a month later, his mother pretended nothing had happened. The police had ruled it as an accident and Charles had been in too much pain from his back to argue.

Getting used to the chair had been ahrd, having to move everything downstairs until elevators were fitted into the mansion. What he saw as worse, however, was that Christopher continued to leer at him and that Charles' could clearly see in the minds of both his step-father and mother that they knew what had happened. That hurt, them knowing but doing nothing.

**16 years old**

At 16, Charles had already graduated high school and college and was packing up to go to Oxford. His mother said nothing, having fallen more and more distant ever since the accident. Charles had grown accustomed to the wheelchair but not the stairs that had accompanied them. When he told his family that he would be studying genetics they had thought it was because he was looking for a cure so he could walk again, but it wasn't that.

Charles had been experimenting on his mutation for 6 years now and thought he was getting good at it, shielding the thoughts of people from himself easily now among other things. Now he wanted to understand the science of it, how he got the mutation and what possibilities it might bring.

**21 Years old **

He spent 6 years in Oxford, finally coming home with a PhD and as a professor. Charles decided he wanted to open a school for mutants, having learnt a lot during his time in Oxford about his own mutation and he wanted to put that knowledge too good use, helping others.

What he didn't take into account, was coming home to find his Mother on the ground with Mark kicking her. He hadn't even thought about it, freezing the bigger man with his mind as he went to his Mother. She screamed at him and Charles startled, flinching with hurt at the thoughts running through her head. His Mother thought he was a monster because he had frozen his step-father in place.

Charles tried to calm her, using his mind but it scared her more. He'd lost control of Mark then, his own emotions coupled with his Mothers causing his concentration to slip. The older man hit him on the head and he lost consciousness.

When he finally came around, it was too a hospital environment and he could hear the thoughts of Doctors all around him, all thinking the same thing of him being a freak. Mark appeared above him. "You killed her. You snapped her neck and you killed her." Charles hadn't believed him but when he looked into the mans' mind he saw the truth. His Mother had died from a heart attack. A heart attack that had been caused because of him. Marks' belief in this rubbed off on Charles as the older man thought this.

Tear came unbid at Charles' eyes and with his own emotions in turmoil, he started projected those thoughts on those around him. His own thoughts fell in tune with the Doctors until something was clicked around his neck and everything went blank around him. He couldn't feel their minds and it scared him. Scared him almost as much as the thought that he had caused his own Mothers' death.

**Present day (aged 24)**

"I spent 3 years there, they did a lot of tests but… it was necessary. My mutation is dangerous Erik, that's why I have to wear this. I killed her. My Mother." Erik was sat dumbfounded on the chair and Charles assumed that the other man was silent because he was disgusted at what he had heard. Unbidden a tear had escaped from the corner of Charles' eyes and when Erik wiped it away with the back of his head, Charles started.

His own blue eyes met Erik's grey steely ones and Charles was probably one of the only people not too flinch away from their steely, angry depths. "You did not kill your Mother." Charles went to interrupt but Erik shook his head. "It was not your fault. You Mother was a sick woman and you did not cause your Mother's death."

"I…" Charles didn't know quite what to say. "She wouldn't have had a heart attack if I hadn't shown her my mutation." Erik shook his head, sadness in his eyes.

"Charles, your mutation did not kill her. What that man told you was wrong. What they did to you that was wrong to. You understand that, don't you?" Charles didn't answer. He could see the logic in Erik's voice but he'd spent so long believing he was the cause of his Mothers' death that he couldn't see any other reason for her death. "You said you had control of your telepathy."

"I did but now…" Charles trailed off because he knew he wouldn't have control over it anymore.

"What if you could learn to control it." Charles didn't answer straight away.

"If you take it off Mark will know and he'll come looking for me."

"Hank can work around that."

"I don' want to cause any trouble for you and what if I can't control it." Erik considered this for a moment before answering.

"We'll work on it. Do you trust me Charles?"

"Of course my friend." It was strange, Charles having not trusted anyone in so long but he did trust Erik.

"Then if you trust me and you want it, we can get that collar off of you." Erik sounded so sincere and Charles knew the older mutant was telling the truth.

"Okay." It felt strange, the idea of taking it off, getting his power back after so long but Charles did want it back. "Okay, you can take it off."

**Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading. Please review :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Charles was nervous. After Erik had left to talk to hank about taking the collar off, Charles had started to get restless. The idea that he might finally be able to get his mutant power back both exhilarated and scared him. He'd spent so long believing that his power had been what caused his Mother's death that he had learnt to fear it, not wanting to repeat that. Except Erik had told him it wasn't his fault and seeing the sincerity in his friends face made Charles believe him. But he'd spent so long without his power that the idea of bringing them back did scare him because he knew that his control on his telepathy would have disappeared by now, meaning he would have to learn to control it again.

When Erik returned, with Hank and Raven in tow, Charles had almost convinced himself that taking the collar off was a bad idea. He almost said as much, before meeting Erik's eyes. The steely resolve in Erik's own eyes made Charles feel his own resolve strengthen. He wanted this. Wanted his power back. "You still okay to do this, Charles?" Raven asked, gently putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, just a little nervous." Charles replied. "How is this going to work, exactly?"

"It might take a while because I've never actually had to keep it active while taking it off." Hank said. "Could I have a look?" Charles nodded, letting Hank look at it.

He felt a little self-conscious, having Hank poke around at his neck. The younger scientist was frowning at it but didn't say anything. Hank spent the next half an hour poking at it before moving away. "I'll see what I can do." Charles nodded, watching as Hank and Raven disappeared from the room.

Erik took a seat next to Charles and asked, "How are you?"

"Fine." Erik raised an eyebrow but Charles ignored it. "I've lived with my past my whole life so I'm fine."

The older man frowned again. "Charles."

"Just drop it Erik." Charles snapped. "I know I'm in a wheelchair and you know all about my past now but I am fine."

"What if Hank can't keep the collar activated, will you still want it off?" Charles didn't answer, not knowing what Erik wanted him to say.

"If it's deactivated then my step-father will know and he'd come here." Charles said, hesitantly. "I don't want to cause you any trouble and before you say you can handle it I'd feel terrible if I brought trouble to your door." Erik was still frowning but he, thankfully, let Charles continue. "At the same time, I miss not being able to feel other people's minds and I want my mutation back. So I don't know Erik, I don't know what I'll do." Erik didn't look satisfied by the answer but he didn't argue either.

"I need to get back to the café and I expect you to still be here when I get back."

"I'm not leaving any time soon."

"Good." Erik replied, exiting the flat and leaving Charles sat there with his own thoughts.

…**.**

"Can you do it?" Raven was perched on one of the tables in Hank's make-shift lab.

"I don't know this collar is more complex than the others' I've seen." Hank replied. He'd been unsure about what Erik was asking to begin with, having usually only ever taken the collars off. The idea that they could keep the collar activated but off Charles may be good but hank wasn't sure he could do it.

"You'll find a way." Raven replied, placing a kiss on Hanks' cheek. "I've got to get to work but I'll be back soon." Hank nodded though he wasn't really paying attention as he turned back to his work.

…**.**

Erik spent the time until closing time in his own thoughts. Alex and Sean, who were working today, noticed but kept their own questions to themselves, though Erik did have to tell them to stop gossiping and keep working.

By the time Erik closed down the café, he was getting steadily more nervous. He didn't understand what was wrong with him, having known Charles for only a short amount of time. Maybe it was the story of Charles' past or simply the fact that Erik hated to see Charles, who saw the best in everyone, hurt in that way. All Erik knew was that he wanted to help but he also knew it wasn't his choice and no matter how much he might want to force Charles to get rid of the collar he couldn't. Not least because Raven would probably kill him if he harmed Charles in any way.

Hank was in Charles' apartment when Erik walked in. Raven was, according to Hank, keeping the other inhabitants of the building occupied, except Logan who Erik could feel was still in his apartment, probably looking out for the suits returning.

"How was work?" Charles asked, keeping his voice level but Erik could see the unsureness in the other mutant's eyes.

"It took to long." Erik replied. "Did you find out how to take the collar off?" Hank nodded.

"Then we're really going to do this then." Nervousness was clear in Charles' voice.

"Only if you want to Charles." Hank said and for a moment Erik thought that Charles would say no.

"Yes, I do want to do this." Charles nodded.

…**.**

Charles fiddled with the thread on his cardigan as Hank started doing something to the collar. The device's power source was at the back so Charles had to bend his head so Hank could get at it easier. He wasn't really sure what the scientist was doing but he enough trust in hank to not question it. Erik was pacing across the floor, tension coming off of him in waves.

It was strange, Charles thought, how much these people were doing for him. He hadn't spent time with mutants before and hadn't expected to befriend some. Charles had especially not expected the way they wanted to help him, making him feel welcomed in their lives.

"That should do it." Hank finally said after about 15 minutes of fiddling with the collar. Charles frowned, thinking how easy it had been but he didn't question it.

"You're sure about this Charles?" The telepath knew that Erik was only asking because he had to, but it was still a nice sentiment.

"I'm sure Erik." Charles nodded, motioning for Erik to continue.

…**.**

Erik walked over to Charles, feeling the metal of the device around his friend's neck. He didn't know why he was nervous about this, having done it before on others, including himself. Charles put one of his hands on the metal device at the back of the collar, concentrating on the way the metal moved under his touch.

"Try not to touch any of the wires." Hank said and Erik nodded. He could feel the wires moving around the collar. They mostly stayed in one area so Erik moved away from the back of the collar and to the side. Charles was tensing in his seat.

…**.**

Charles really wished that Erik would hurry up, even if he knew that Erik couldn't break what Hank had done. Finally he felt the metal start to come undone and within seconds the collar fell apart from his neck and onto his lap.

As soon as the collar was off, however, he felt overwhelmed. He could feel the thoughts of Erik and Hank as clearly as if they were saying them out loud and even from here, he could feel the thoughts of Logan in the other apartment. The minds of everyone in the cities mostly blurred together but they did buzz at Charles' consciousness.

Erik's mine was shouting out with worry and Charles involuntarily cringed away from the taller man. "Charles?" Erik's voice was hesitant and Charles' could feel the hurt coming off him in waves.

"Sorry, just give me a minute." Charles winced at the strain in his voice as he reached for the shields he'd built when he was younger. They came up, though they were weak but at least Charles could block out a lot of the thoughts.

Curious as to what else he could do, Charles reached tentatively for Erik's mind. _It worked._ Erik's mind flinched away and Charles felt a suddenly guilty about it. _Is this alright?_ He tried again, glad when Erik didn't flinch away this time.

_Yes._ Erik's voice was hesitant but Charles could hear it. A wide grin spread across his lips at this. "Thank you, both of you." Charles said to the two mutants.

"It was our pleasure Charles." Erik said as Hank only nervously ducked his head. Hanks' mind was very interesting as the younger scientist was always thinking of new and different things to do with science. Charles resolved to talk to Hank about them but right now he was still getting used to the telepathy. "Shout if you need anything." Erik finally said, leaving the room with Hank.

_I don't need to shout._ Charles' voice sounded mischievous in Erik's head and Charles could hear the quiet laughter from Erik's head. It was fascinating, hearing all these voices again after so long. Charles felt more alighted than he had in so long.

When Raven and the others returned later in the night, Charles couldn't help but laugh a little breathlessly as their brains touched his. He could feel his friends in his mind and somehow that made him feel closer to them. Soon he felt as each one fell into sleep, the last being Hank who was in his lab.

Charles wanted to dig deeper into his friend's heads but he didn't want to invade their private thoughts so he pulled his shields up. They weren't strong and Charles was a little unsure of how long they held but as long as he concentrated he would be able to keep thoughts out but Charles managed. He fell asleep smiling, as he felt his friend's minds and dreams.

**Tada, Charles has his power back. As always, hope you enjoyed and please review :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Erik doesn't think Charles noticed, but he'd taken the collar with him back to his room. The collar now sat on his mantelpiece, almost mockingly and if not for Charles' insistence that it stayed on the metal manipulator probably would have crushed it into little pieces by now. Thinking of the telepath, Erik felt a number of mixed feelings come up.

The collar seemed to have aggravated the skin around Charles' neck and while it probably wasn't overly painful, Erik resolved to make Hank have a look at it tomorrow. Charles himself had seemed different when the initial shock of getting his powers disappeared. The younger mutant had touched his mind, though, making Erik physically cringed. He had his own demons, which he needed to keep hidden from everyone else. The telepath could so easily find them, however and Erik felt himself almost unwillingly reaching for the helmet he had taken from Shaw.

Strange that of all the things from his past tormentor he had chosen to keep this. It wasn't even that he wanted to wear or even use it but still here it was. At first Erik had told himself it was because of Emma Frost, who was still very much unaccounted for but when the diamond woman didn't reappear Erik realised it was something else entirely. Erik had never expected to meet another telepath, foolishly thinking the only one there was Emma or if there was another then said telepath wouldn't be half as strong.

Then he'd met Charles, who told him he was a telepath but Erik still didn't grasp the full extent of Charles' power even after hearing the story of his past. But when Charles' mind touched his Erik had felt the power there and he'd been afraid. Irrationally, he kept telling himself, this was Charles after all but Erik couldn't shake the thought of someone in his head. Someone, who might be able to control him. It was far, far too tempting for Erik to place Shaw's helmet on so he could avoid Charles glimpsing into his past but he stopped himself from sheer will power.

That night, Erik could feel the edges of Charles' mind hovering near his own and because of this, it took him longer than usual to sleep but eventually he did, his dreams filled of those of Shaw and the experiments the scientists had done to him.

…**..**

Charles woke with a half whispered shout on his lips. Disorientated, Charles felt dizzy as the minds of the waking household and city ran across him. He'd been dreaming of himself as a small child with a stranger stranding over him, saying things about trying to help him reach his full potential. Except they weren't Charles' dreams because Charles' nightmares weren't full of strangers but those he knew.

Considering his sudden return of his powers, Charles considered the possibility of the nightmare being cause by one of the other inhabitants of the building and gently pushed his mind to that of his friends.

Alex, Sean and Angel were still fast asleep while Darwin was getting ready for work. He could feel the awe in Raven's mind as Hank told her about the previous night and the scientists own jumbled thoughts, running through hundreds of new ideas. Logan's mind wasn't anywhere in the vicinity so Charles guessed he'd gone out. Erik, though. His mind was in turmoil due to the nightmare Erik had obviously been having.

Charles winced in sympathy as a particularly strong memory passed Erik's surface thoughts and for a second the young telepath wanted to offer comfort to Erik. Except he knew the thought would not be welcomed and quickly banished it, pulling his shields around himself so as to avoid hearing the minds of those in the apartment. It was difficult, there surface thoughts touching Charles, especially when a strong feeling or loud thought crossed them but otherwise Charles was successful.

He ate his breakfast with a small smile playing on his lips as Charles felt the edges of his friends mind. It was a strange comfort but Charles found the reassuring weight of someone else's' thoughts calming in a way nothing else could be. The thoughts never lied and even blocking the minds from himself, Charles could feel that his friends were safe.

It was barley 9 in the morning so Charles decided he'd go out for a while. It was pleasant outside, the sun shining and Charles could feel the good mood of those around him rubbing off of himself. Occasionally, he touched a mind that was thinking things that Charles didn't want to hear. There was the group of adults, watching him in the wheelchair and feeling sympathy. Then there were the group of kids, talking about the new mutant in their children and thinking thoughts that Charles thought might take bullying a tad too far. But there were also the thoughts of people who were running late for work or running through a presentation they needed to do. Normal thoughts.

By lunch time, Charles had started to get a headache from the constant blocking of the different minds in the city and the surface thoughts that kept hitting him no matter how much he tried to block them out. He debated on just going home but Raven had texted for him to come to the café at lunch and Charles had already agreed. Anyway, he wanted to properly thank Hank and Erik for helping with the collar, which he was ashamed to say he didn't do fully last night.

The café was as busy as always with three of Erik's human servers working today. Raven waved over to him from where she was sat with hank, Alex, Sean, Darwin and Angel. _Hello Raven_. The squeal that came from Raven made Charles jump a little, especially as she threw her arms around him.

_Hello Charles_. "Was that alright?" She asked out loud, gaining confused looks from everyone but Hank, who had seen the display yesterday.

"You've lost the collar." Alex suddenly interrupted, noting that the metal collar was nowhere in sight on Charles' neck. "You knew didn't you, Raven? Is that why you made us leave yesterday?"

"We couldn't have you idiots overwhelming Charles now could we?" Raven replied, a little mischievously.

"So what you can hear our thoughts now?" Angel asked, leaning in further towards Charles.

_Yes Angel._ Angel flinched a little at the thought in his voice and Charles quickly apologised.

"Its fine, it just felt a little…"

"Strange?" Charles replied, getting a nod from Angel.

_Professor, can you hear this?_ Sean practically shouted it through his mind and Charles groaned a little.

_Try not so loud_.

_Is this better?_ Charles nodded, gaining a sheepish grin from Sean.

It didn't take long before his friends were all talking amongst themselves, a happy thrum coming from their minds. Charles felt himself drift a little, looking over to Erik who was watching them like a hawk. _What's wrong?_ Charles projected the question towards Erik, who stiffened where he stood.

_Nothing. How did they take it?_ No one else seemed to notice the private conversation he and Erik were having.

_Better than I thought._ Charles replied. He'd been a little nervous at going into their minds, knowing from experience that most people didn't like telepaths but the others seemed to not mind, seeing it as more fascinating than intrusive.

_Good._ Erik was silent for a minute but Charles could hear he had something else to say.

_Say whatever you need to Erik, I'm listening right now aren't I?_ A grin appeared at Erik's lips but it was quickly replaced with a scowl as a customer came over.

Erik didn't answer until the customer had gone. _Your telepathy, have you got control of it?_ Charles frowned wondering where this was going, when he asked as much Erik continued. _I don't like people in my minds._ The answer was abrupt and it took a moment for Charles to register what Erik had said. The older mutant had implied he didn't want Charles in his head, particularly told him to get out of his head. Without a second thought, Charles pulled his shields up, feeling the loss of contact with Erik's mind. As if it was an echo, Charles could hear Erik calling his name in Erik's mind but he ignored it.

"Is something wrong?" Hank leaned over towards Charles, a frown etched across his brow.

"Fine, I just have a bit of a headache." Charles replied, which wasn't exactly a lie but he knew that wasn't what was wrong. No what was wrong was Erik telling him to keep out of his mind as if Charles had a choice. Erik was the one to persuade Charles to get his powers back and here Erik was, telling the young telepath to keep out of his head as if Charles had a choice in the matter.

"Are we thinking to loud for you, do you want us to quieter down?" Alex asked, having heard Charles' reply.

"No, it's fine. I'm just not used to so many voices in my head all the time." Charles explained.

"What's it like being a telepath?" Sean's voice was full of curiosity and Charles couldn't supress the laugh when Raven punched the younger in the arm.

"It's hard to explain." Charles said, his eyes drifting over to Erik who's eyes where full of hurt. How could he feel hurt when he'd been the one to tell Charles to keep out of his head? "I think I might just go home and lie down for a bit."

"Is the headache that bad?"

"No, but I'm a little tired I didn't get much sleep last night." Which was true, due to the nightmares surrounding Erik last night. "I'll see you later." He said, wheeling his chair away from the table and the hurt filled eyes of Erik.

**Because I can't resist upset Charles in fics :)**

**As always please review and hope you enjoyed.**


	9. Chapter 9

It had been nearly a week since Charles had taken the collar off and Raven was starting to worry about her friend. After the first day, Charles hadn't ventured out of the flat overly much and even when he did it was only out of necessity. He'd been careful to make it seem like nothing was wrong and seeing as the telepath wasn't usually one for randomly going out Raven might have been able to overlook it. Except that she'd seen Charles in the café tutoring Sean that morning, the first time she'd seen him in 3 days, and he'd looked terrible. There were dark bags under his eyes and he'd particularly fallen asleep when not talking with Sean.

Unsurprisingly she hadn't been the only one to notice, Sean having mentioned it to the others. Darwin had also said he'd taken Charles to the café, via his taxi service, and he'd noticed something wasn't right with the usually chatty professor.

"What do you think's wrong with him?" Raven asked Hank.

"Maybe he just needs some space to get his bearings a bit." Hank said, referring to the fact Charles had only recently gotten his telepathy back. Raven admitted that maybe that was part of it but she didn't believe that was why Charles was avoiding them. Anyway, he'd looked run-down and just terrible when she'd seen him.

"Do you think he's ill?" Hank frowned.

"He could be. How about we go and check on him?" Raven beamed at her boyfriend, who was currently sporting a more human look from the serum he'd been taking.

The two made their way down to the bottom floor when Logan's door banged open. "Was wondering when someone was going to check on the Professor."

"You know something's wrong with him." Hank asked, stepping forwards a little to meet Logan's gaze.

"I haven't seen him in a while but its' not my place to ask. Though if one of you hadn't noticed soon I would have mentioned it." Logan liked to pretend he didn't care about them but Raven secretly knew the slightly scary mutant had a soft spot for the mutants in the building.

Logan watched them knock on Charles' door, something which in Raven's honest opinion was rather comforting. They didn't actually know what they might find in the apartment. After 5 minutes of knocking, Raven was glad again that Logan hadn't gone inside as he appeared at her side holding a key. "You gonna be alright?" Logan asked and Raven nodded, leaning in closer to Hank as Logan's door shut.

Charles' apartment was usually in disarray, with papers scattered on mostly every surface and books opened at seemingly random pages so when the entered the apartment to a mess it wasn't overly surprising. What was surprising, however, was the fact that when Raven called Charles' name they got a pained groan in answer.

Raven and Hank shared a look as they walked into the bathroom were the noise had come from. Charles' wheelchair was sat alone in the corner of the bathroom, while Charles himself was leaning against the bath tub. "Charles?" Raven knelt down so she was sat in front of Charles while Hank went to bring the wheelchair over.

_Raven._ The voice in her head was a comfort but she could feel Charles slightly flinch away as if he'd done something wrong. "Sorry." He mumbled.

"What happened?" Hank asked, nervously hovering by Raven's elbow. Charles lifted his eyes up to meet Raven and she felt sick to her stomach. The usual bright, intelligent blue had been replaced by a cloudy vacant gaze. Black shadows were ringed around Charles' eyes as if he hadn't had any sleep in a while.

"Are you sick?" Raven asked, checking Charles' temperature. It was a little clammy but otherwise, she guessed, at normal temperature. "What hurts?"

"My head." Charles all but whimpered, closing his eyes as if that would dull the pain. "IS it an effect of the collar?" Raven turned to Hank who shrugged helplessly.

"We need to get him into bed." Hank said. "I'll look properly then." Raven nodded, allowing Hank to lift Charles up, taking him into the bedroom. Feeling a little helpless, Raven wheeled the wheelchair back through so it was in easy reach of Charles should he need it.

"Why didn't you say something was wrong?" Raven asked, sitting next to Charles on the bed. The telepath struggled into a sitting position.

"Sorry. I'll be okay you should leave." Raven and Hank both shook their head stubbornly.

"We're staying." Hank told him, doing (what Raven called) doctory stuff to Charles. When he was done Hank was frowning, his glasses falling down his nose. Almost absentmindedly, Raven pushed them back up for him. "I think you might have the flu." Charles groaned then.

"You should have said you were ill." Raven chastised.

"Didn't want you to worry."

"So getting yourself stuck in the bathroom stopped us from worrying." Raven argued, regretting it when Charles winced away from the loudness in her voice. "You should have, I don't know, used your telepathy to tell us you needed help."

"Didn't want to go into your heads." Charles mumbled, his eyes drifting close before Raven could say anything.

Hank and Raven disappeared from the room when they were sure Charles was sleeping and Raven turned to Hank with worry clear on her face. "What's wrong with him? He sounded delusional or something. Is that normal for the flu?"

"I don't think it's the flu." Hank replied, quietly so as not to wake Charles. "Something's wrong with him but I don't think it's that or he'd be burning up."

"Then what is it."

"Sleep deprivation and he's lost weight like he hasn't been eating." Raven frowned.

"I'm going to make him chicken soup." Raven resolved, feeling utterly helpless. She didn't do looking after people, that was usually Hank's job but she wanted to help Charles because he was her friend and she couldn't understand what was wrong for him to just stop functioning like this.

**This chapter went completely off course of what I was going for but hope its' alright anyway. Also, I have no medical knowledge what so ever so if anything is wrong sorry **

**Hope you enjoyed and please review :)**


	10. Chapter 10

When Raven mentioned to the other residents that Charles was sick they'd immediately started taking it in turns to help the sick professor. Charles hadn't expected the attention and felt a little guilty about it. He knew what was wrong with him and was pretty sure the cure was simple enough. The problem was when he slept he had little control of whose mind he read, something he didn't want to do. This meant that 2 days after Raven and Hank had noticed he was sick, Charles was still not any better.

"You need to sleep." Raven told him and Charles nodded his head. He really did. Charles was used to sleepless night, a downside of studying in Oxford, but he hadn't slept fully in the last week. Sure he'd had the odd cat naps here and there but they didn't do justice to a proper night's sleep.

"I can't." Charles admitted, causing Raven frowned.

"How about sleeping pills? Will they help?"

Charles considered this before nodding. They had worked in the past after all, knocking him put so completely that even the voices in his head had died down completely. "There's some in the cupboard." Raven said nothing about Charles having sleeping pills in the apartment, which he was grateful for as she gave them to him. The effects took a hold of him almost instantly and soon he was completely unconscious and finally sleeping.

…**..**

Erik had heard from the kids that Charles was sick and Erik had been having an internal debate ever since deciding on whether he should visit his sick friend. The problem was that Erik didn't know if Charles would want him there. After their telepathic conversation, Erik had had the feeling that Charles was avoiding him. Again.

He was so engrossed in his own thoughts that when two men came up to the counter he didn't even notice until they started talking. "Are you Mr Lehnsherr?" Instantly, Erik's back went up. Anyone who actively asked him that was bad news in Erik's experience.

"Depends on who's asking." He stated, feeling the metal on the two men. They carried guns, which meant they didn't know who he was because if they did the guns would be plastic.

"We work on behalf of the Xavier trust fund." The first suit said, making Erik frown, remembering the suits Alex had mentioned. "We were wondering if you've seen Charles Xavier recently. His step-father sent us to check on him and to go over some paperwork regarding the estate."

_Bullshit,_ Erik thought quietly. "Never heard of him."

"He lives in your building." Suit 2 said as if this would jog Erik's memory.

"Lots of people live in the building, I'm not exactly friendly with everyone." Erik replied, seeing that Banshee was eavesdropping from where he was serving coffee.

The two suits looked at him for a long moment and Erik seriously debated on just kicking them out. Instead they said, "If you do see him give him this." Suit 1 handed him a large brown envelope then the two men left the café. The envelope was heavy and Erik wanted to open it to make sure it wasn't a bomb but instead he put it under the counter, resolving to talk to Charles about it as soon as the Professor was better.

…**.**

Charles was out of it for over 12 hours and when he finally did wake up he was groggy enough to not be able to pull his shields around him. He cursed for forgetting the effect of the sleeping pills. "You okay?" Raven asked and Charles could clearly feel the worry in her head.

He tried to block it out, knowing that they wouldn't want him in their heads. "Why wouldn't we want you to supress your abilities?" Raven asked and Charles realised he must have projected that thought. "Charles, is that why you haven't been sleeping?" Charles blushed, ducking his head so he wouldn't have to meet Raven's gaze. The blue mutant had climbed into the bed so she was effectively pinning him place, not that he would have gotten far if he'd decided to run anyway seeing as he couldn't actually walk.

"I know my mutation can be…intrusive so I thought it would be best to block out your thoughts." Raven didn't say anything, putting an arm around Charles' shoulder and snuggling closer to him in a way that he had seen her do with Hank on numerous occasions.

"You idiot Charles Xavier. I personally don't think you would read any of my deepest thoughts unless I gave you permission so stop trying to block them out." Charles looked disbelievingly at her and Raven shrugged. "I haven't got anything to hide and its' not like you can see everything unless you go digging, can you?"

"No, I can only hear the surface thoughts unless I want to hear anything else." Charles explained, cautiously letting his shield's down. "What about the others?"

"They don't mind." Raven replied.

"And Erik?" Charles asked because he distinctively remembered what Erik had told him before.

"Erik? He told you not to get in his head didn't he?" Charles nodded meekly and Raven jumped to her feet, angry. "Ignore him. He's a paranoid prick." Raven told Charles earnestly.

"He told me to not read his mind." Charles told her, knowing from Raven's mind that she wanted to understand why he had blocked her out. "I thought that applied to you all."

"For a mind-reader you're not good at reading people are you?" Charles laughed because what Raven said was true. He really was terrible at understanding people. "You remember that other telepath Erik mentioned. Her name was Emma Frost and she worked for a guy named Shaw. Shaw killed his Mother and experimented on him, he's never really gotten over it I don't think and the telepath got inside his head and Erik didn't like it. She wasn't as considerate as you are." Charles frowned.

"If he doesn't want me in his head though…"

"I'll talk to him." Raven promised. "Now get some actual sleep, please." Charles nodded, closing his eyes and drifting off once more.

…

Erik didn't know what to make of Raven standing in his apartment. He especially didn't know why she started yelling at him about him being the reason Charles was sick. "What do you mean?" Erik asked, completely confused now.

"You told Charles to stay out of his head so he's been exhausting himself to keep out of all our heads." Erik sat down, looking at Raven as he went through his conversation with Charles.

"I didn't realise he would take it like that." Erik replied. He'd meant for Charles to stay out of his memories not completely out of his head and he certainly hadn't meant Charles to get sick because of it.

"Then you had better sort it." Erik nodded, going to stand up and talk to Charles but Raven stopped him by saying. "Not yet, he's finally sleeping but you are going to be there when he wakes up and talk to him."

"So ambush him." This caused Raven to glare at him.

"Now." Raven walked him straight to Charles' door and Erik knew better than to argue with her so he did as he was told. Charles was in the bed, sleeping and Erik felt even more guilty when he saw the paleness of the younger man and the dark circles around his eyes. "You better not upset him any more than you already have." Raven warned him, before leaving him with a sleeping Charles.


	11. Chapter 11

When Charles woke up, the distinct buzz of a mind was sat near his bed. It wasn't odd to find this, after all it seemed as if everyone in the building had decided they would come and go to look after him while sick, which while comforting was a little disconcerting considering they didn't seem to understand what knocking meant. Or an invitation for that matter. The actual brain, though, was not one that Chares had thought to feel.

"Erik?" Charles went to pull his shields around him but Erik held up his hand.

"Raven told me what you said."

"I don't mind." Charles quickly said. "People don't usually like telepaths because we can pick around their heads but I do try not to." Erik chuckled softly.

"I know that and I admit that that is a worry for me but Charles, I didn't mean what I said." Erik was floundering a little so Charles stayed silent as the other man thought about what he was going to say. "What I mean is no one should have to stop using their powers because of other people and I didn't mean you to take it that way."

Charles was silent for a minute, wondering what to say next. "So you don't mind me…."

"Hearing my thoughts I don't mind because I know you can't control that but if you started picking through my brain."

"I promise I would never do that unless you wanted me to." Charles quickly interrupted because he would never do that to his friend. In fact, he wouldn't do that to anyone no matter who they were.

"I know that and I am sorry." Charles shrugged. He was feeling a lot better now after getting sleep and now he didn't need to block as much the headaches were going. Of course, Charles was still a little hesitant with Erik sitting there, the other mans; words still going around his head, but all in all he was a lot better. "Is there anything I can do?" Erik asked, looking around awkwardly.

"Could you pass my chair, I really need to get out of bed."

"Are you sure your well enough for that."

"I feel a lot better now I've slept properly." Charles assured Erik. After a quick look over Charles, Erik finally consented to bring the wheelchair over. He did insist in helping Charles into it, something Charles felt a little embarrassed at though he didn't argue.

"Do you want tea or food?"

"Tea would be fine." Charles couldn't help but laugh at Erik, who he had never seen so out of his comfort zone before. Soon enough the two men were sitting around Charles' kitchen table with their coffee and tea.

They were silent for a while before Erik suddenly pulled out a brown envelope from his jacket. "Those 2 suits came to the café looking for you again." His voice was grave, causing Charles to frown.

"I'm sorry if they caused you any trouble."

"They didn't." And Charles was willing to believe that. Erik was more than capable of looking after himself.

"What did they want?" Charles as trying to keep the nervousness from his voice but Erik could see it and for a moment Charles thought he might be projecting when he realised Erik just knew him far too well. It was a nice thought though.

"They wanted you to have this." Erik passed the brown envelope towards Charles and the telepath stared at it for a moment before opening the letter.

Erik sat silently as Charles read the document over, his frown increasing as he did so. When he was finally finished an anger was growing in the pit of his stomach but he pushed it away. "What is it?"

"A court order." Charles pushed the papers towards Erik with more force than necessary. "My Step-father wants me to sign the family estate over to him." The estate, while having a number of terrible memories for Charles, wasn't something he was willing to give up. That was his home after all, he'd grown up there and the money had belonged to his Father and he would not give it to his Step-father. "He wants to meet with me."

"You can't." Erik immediately said. Charles nodded his agreement, his hands going unbid to his neck.

"I don't think I have a choice." Charles replied. "The papers say if I don't, legally, he can take it all." Erik growled, standing up in anger.

"That isn't right." Charles didn't reply. "What gives him the right?"

The telepath hesitated for a minute before answering Erik's question. "When my Mother died and my step-father put me in the hospital, I lost control of all of my estate. Incompetent they said." His voice was bitter when he said it.

"How can they think that?" Erik sounded incredulous.

"Because they thought I killed my Mother and because I'm a mutant."

"Can you get out of signing it?" Charles could see that Erik was trying to be reasonable but the other mans' anger was radiating into Charles, fuelling his own.

"If I prove to be competent then yes. If not, then no. Legally, my step-father can actually put me back in the hospital." Charles flinched away from the slash of anger coming from Erik.

"That is not going to happen."

"Calm, my friend." He waited for a minute as Erik calmed himself down. "I just need to convince my step-father I'm doing better. Though, there is the problem with the…" This is where Charles trailed off.

"The collar." Erik replied, his voice deadpanned. "Will that effect the decision?"

"The lawyers could decide I'm unfit." Charles replied, fear appearing as he thought about what could happen. "But the same thing could happen if I refuse to turn up."

Erik considered this for a moment before finally saying, "Bring them to the café. They won't try anything there and if they do you'll have friends to back you up." Charles looked at Erik, seeing from both the older mans' face and mind that he was deadly serious.

"Thank you my friend but I can't ask that of you."

"You didn't ask, I offered." Erik replied, reflecting his intentions into Charles' head. From them Charles could see that Erik wouldn't leave Charles to deal with this alone.

"I am sorry for bringing this trouble to you."

"You have nothing to apologise for." _But I do_, Erik's voice filtered into Charles head, causing the telepath to laugh.

"We do tend to do that a lot." Charles laughed, which caused Erik to laugh also. It felt as if the tension leaked out of them for a minute then but Charles knew it wouldn't last. Not with his track record at least.


	12. Chapter 12

It was a week after his talk with Erik. A week after he had gotten the letter from his step-father. His control of his telepathy had come naturally once he'd found his friends didn't mind him reading their surface thoughts and now he had nearly the same level of control he had before the suppression collar was placed on. Of course Charles still didn't have access to his full mutation but at the rate he'd improved, hank believed it would only take at most a month for the full level to be obtained.

Knowing all of this, Charles had been able to focus more clearly on the problem surrounding his step-father. He'd even been able to have a calm conversation with the mans' secretary about meeting at Erik's café, which Mark Warren hadn't wanted to do. Charles was secretly glad Erik had offered the café to him because it made Charles feel a little safer in the knowledge that he would have to meet with the man.

The thought of safety hadn't stopped him from telling Erik that it was a bad idea to let Mark Warren anywhere near the café or the kids from the apartment but it hadn't stopped Erik's insistence. Nor had it stopped his friends from telling him they were going to be there for moral support, after Erik had told them about what Charles' step-father was after.

All of this found Charles sitting nervously in the café, waiting for his step-father and playing nervously with the turtle neck he'd borrowed from Erik. Because Mark expected to see the suppression collar still on Charles, the telepath knew him seeing Charles without it on would cause problems. When he'd mentioned it to Erik, the older mutant had given Charles one of his turtle necks to wear so he could hide the lack of a suppression collar. It wasn't brilliant and Charles knew if Mark asked to see it there would be problems but it was better than nothing.

Sean and Alex were working the café toady with Erik, something Charles knew they must have planned as a way of not leaving him alone. Raven and Hank were also there with Darwin and Angel, drinking coffee and trying not to look like they were watching his every movement. Surprisingly, Charles saw that Logan was also in the café, something which was strange because over the last few months Charles had never seen the man anywhere near the café. Charles had also picked up on a mind in the staff room, a mutant named Azazel and according to Erik, 'back-up in case something went wrong'. If it wasn't that Charles was worried about his friends, he'd feel completely grateful for the concern. He did feel grateful but he also didn't want to drag them into his mess and was even tempted to make them leave so if there were problems, they wouldn't get hurt. Except he'd promised Erik not do that and knew none of his friends would appreciate it.

His step-father was nearly half an hour late and by the time he did walk in Charles' nerves were jumping about. The man was the same as ever, taller and bulkier than Charles had ever, or would ever, be with dark features and a permanent scowl on his face. Charles held his breathe for a moment as he watched his step-father enter. He'd seen a number of 'suits' dressed in casual clothes walk into the café and from their minds saw they were each carrying guns meant to neutralise mutants. It made him shiver seeing that but he kept his calm as Mark walked over to the table.

The man shook Charles' hand, roughly and from the contact Charles could clearly hear the hate radiating from mark towards his step-son. "How's Christopher?" Charles asked conversationally.

"In prison." Charles flinched at that, hearing the blame and hatred radiating from both Marks' voice and mind. Christopher had been arrested for stealing but for some reason Mark blamed this on Charles, which seemed unfair in the telepaths opinion considering he hadn't seen his step-brother in over 3 years. Of course, Mark had always blamed Charles for everything, even his own Mothers' death. "Are you ready to sign the papers then?"

"No." Mark clenched his fists just as Alex appeared at his elbow.

"Tea Professor?" Charles sighed a little bemused that Alex had come over but looking around he saw that his friends were watching himself and Mark.

"Tea for both of us." Mark growled, motioning for Alex to move away. "Who is he?"

"A friend." Mark snorted and Charles could feel the anger appearing inside but he pushed it down. Alex came back with the tea, hovering a little longer than necessary before Charles gave him a look to tell him to leave. "I'm not going to sign the papers."

"Why not?" Mark glared at him and at any other time Charles might have flinched away but instead he just kept a level stare at the man.

"Because it is my Fathers' estate and therefore mine." Mark chuckled, not a nice sound coming from the man.

"You are a mutant with nothing to offer the world." Charles bristled, his thoughts going unbid to what he had planned when still at Oxford. "What would you do with the family fortune?"

"It's not your family." Charles glared right back at Mark, picking the fact that mark saw it as his rather than Charles'. "And I don't need to explain myself to you."

"Actually you do." Mark smiled smugly at Charles then. "The courts said you where unfit so you don't get a say in this boy."

"I'm not unfit."

"You killed your Mother." Mark had raised his voice higher than necessary and Charles had to quickly send a reassuring thought to his friends, who had gone to stand up at hearing this. Raven and Erik were the hardest to calm down but they stayed put at least.

"I didn't kill my Mother. She died from a heart attack."

"That you caused." Charles could feel his anger rising and he clenched his hands around the arms of his wheelchair to stop from using his telepathy on Mark.

"She drank a lot. That's what caused it." Mark looked bemused at Charles, having not expected Charles to argue with him. "I won't sign anything because you don't have any right to it." A thought flashed through Marks' mind quickly and Charles focused on it, picking out that Mark couldn't take any of Charles' inheritance without Charles' consent.

"Let me see the collar." Charles froze as Mark smiled. "Let me see the collar and I'll leave." From the other mans' mind Charles could tell that Mark wouldn't actually leave him alone if he saw the collar but if he didn't see it, Charles shuddered at the thought.

"Why do you want to see it?"

"Because I need to make sure it's' still there."

"It is." Charles told him but mark only shook his head. The telepath could see that Mark suspected the collar wasn't there.

"Then show me."

Charles froze for a minute, thoughts running through his head. Finally he realised that the only way out of this would be to make Mark think he'd seen it. Concentrating, Charles really hoped his telepathy was strong enough to create the illusion as he pulled down the collar of Erik's' turtle neck. For a moment it seemed to be working as Mark didn't say anything. Charles was just about to pull the jumper over his neck and drop the images inside Marks mind when a crash came from behind him, causing him to lose concentration.

**Sorry about the cliff hanger but it felt right to end here so hope you enjoyed and the next chapter should be up in the next day or two, depending on how fast I write it. As always please review :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for all the reviews, favourites, follows and for everyone reading it. **

Charles didn't move as Mark stared straight at him. The telepath was reaching for control over his step-father's mind; to make the man leave, forget what he had seen. Instead Mark fought back, pulling shields that Charles' weakened telepathy couldn't penetrate. "Where is it?" Charles stayed silent, knowing that his friends had noticed something was wrong. "How did you get it off?"

"Why does it matter?" Charles asked, sending a thought to Erik to make the man stay in place. One of the suits Mark had brought with him was reaching for a gun but Charles froze him in place. They didn't need guns going off here.

"Because you're dangerous." Mark said, incredulously, his hand going to his pocket. Charles didn't move as his step-father placed the gun on his lap. Erik was moving now and it took all Charles' effort to keep the man and the other mutants from moving. He didn't want his friends to get hurt because of this.

"What are you going to do?" Charles winced at the tremble in his voice but his focus was on keeping the people in the café in place. If someone started a fight then Charles didn't know what the outcome may be and while he was worried about what his step-father might do he did not want anyone to die.

"I'm not going to do anything. You are going to follow me out of this café and make sure no one follows us." Charles swallowed his hold on Erik and raven's mind slipping. Their anger at him for freezing them in place was coming through and Charles strained with the effort to keep them in place.

"Don't hurt them." Charles didn't care that he was practically begging the man not to hurt his friends but at this point he didn't care, not if it meant Mark wouldn't kill his friends.

"You keep them in place until we're gone and I won't."

"I thought you hated my mutation." Charles countered, stalling as his mind ran over all the possibilities of what he could do. Unfortunately, Mark had had too much time getting used to Charles' power and blocking Charles from his mind. Charles couldn't control the mans' thoughts and with that went the only edge he had.

"I do but right now it's' useful." Charles glared as Mark stood up. Logan stood up then, his metal claws coming from his hand but Charles strained to keep the man in place. It was an effort, keeping control of all these people but he couldn't let his friends get hurt and he couldn't let his control of the suits slip in case they hurt his friends. "See what happens when you do as you're told." Mark said, taking the wheelchair arms and wheeling Charles towards the café door. Charles tried one last time to take control of Marks' mind but the man hit him over the head.

His control slipped and his friends started forward. Angel's wings had started to appear from her back and Darwin's skin had changed. Alex's power came to surface and Sean opened his mouth and blue fur started to erupt on Hanks' skin. Logan's' claws were fully out now and Azazel had appeared in the café. All of the metal was shaking in the café as Erik lifted his arms and Raven vaulted over the table, starting towards the suits who all had guns aimed at the mutants.

Charles closed his eyes in pain as he froze everyone once more in place. He could feel blood dripping from his nose from the strain of controlling their fighting minds. "Let my suits go." Charles' hand shook as he did what his step-father asked, though he made sure to make the suits put the guns down and walk out of the café. On another thought he made sure to make everyone in the café forget the faces of the mutants, though Marks' mind was still blocked to him.

By the time Mark pushed the chair towards a black car and pulled Charles into it, Charles' control of all the minds slipped and he slipped into the blackness at the edges of his vision.

…**..**

"Charles!" Raven shouted as the car sped away from the front of the café. The other mutants looked a little dazed from the compulsion Charles had put on them while Logan and Erik just looked furious. Metal was shaking all over the café in Erik's anger.

"Azazel can you follow them." The red mutant didn't blink twice as he flashed out of the café. Hank put a hand on Raven's shoulder but she shook it off, anger coming off her in waves.

"Where would he have taken the Professor?" Angel asked, quietly.

"We need to find him." Sean's voice had a hint of desperation to it that had Raven shivering because this was Charles and that man had just taken him. They'd been helpless to help him.

"How did that even happen?" Alex asked, causing Raven to shudder.

"Charles, he did it." Raven leaned into Hanks' arms as she remembered the familiar mind of Charles keeping her in place.

"Shit, I didn't know he was that powerful."

"It doesn't matter." Erik all but snapped at Alex. "We need to find him now." The mutants nodded their heads in agreement but Raven didn't. How were they supposed to find someone when they had no idea where they were going.

…**..**

Erik was pacing the floor of the staff room, waiting for news. Any news. He was still furious at Charles because the telepath had promised he wouldn't go into Erik's mind like that and that was exactly what he had done. Erik still couldn't believe that. It wasn't the power that had radiated from Charles or the fact that his friend had forced his will upon Erik. It was that Charles had done so, causing Erik's' friend to be taken hostage.

"No one's heard anything." Logan grunted, taking out a cigar as he collapsed into one of the chairs. It hadn't surprised Erik when the other mutant had stayed around to help them. While Logan may pretend not to care he was always prepared to help whenever one of his tenants was hurt.

Alex, Sean, Angel and Darwin came into the staff room straight after Logan, all shaking their heads in frustration. They'd gone to work the streets to see if any mutants or anyone had heard of where Mark Warren was keeping his new lab.

"There wasn't anything in the files." Ravens' voice carried into the room as she and Hank emerged, having searched through the files. Erik's anger got a hold of him then as the metal inside Logan caused Erik to lift the man from the ground. The mutant glared at him as Erik put him down but at this point Erik couldn't care.

"Then where the hell is he?" Erik shouted at them, anger boiling up.

Raven jumped to her feet. "We don't know, we've tried everything." There were tears in her eyes as she glared at Erik, causing the other mutant to calm down quickly. He wasn't the only one who was worried about Charles. He had to keep calm because these kids, and Logan, where expecting him to know what to do. He was their leader. Erik had to keep calm. Had to concentrate. But this was Charles, his friend, their friend. And he had been taken by a mad man who was doing who knows what to the telepath.

A flash of smoked in the corner of the room stopped Erik before his anger got out of control again. Azazel got the attention of all the mutants in the room as he said, "I know where he is."

**Shorter but next chapter should be longer. As always hope you enjoyed and please review :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Description of torture type things, though not in full detail but if anyone uncomfortable do not read**

Charles groaned as he started to regain consciousness. His head hurt considerably and it took him a moment to remember what had happened. When he did, Charles started fully awake, his eyes flying open. Mark was sitting on an armchair by the bed Charles was lying in. Groaning a second time, Charles went to reach for the mans' mind but he couldn't sense it. Panic gripped him and he went to get up but his limbs felt far too heavy for him to move. Moving his head to the side, he noticed an IV going into his arm.

"We're working on a new collar for you but for now drugs will have to do." Charles wanted to comment but the words died on his tongue. "Of course they're not perfect, they won't completely block your powers but they'll weaken them." Charles frowned, as he turned to face Mark. "You don't recognise the place do you? Of course it had changed since the last time you were here." Charles didn't quite understand what mark was talking about and he let his eyes drift closed for a second. "Not yet." Marks' soft voice appeared in front of him as the man slapped Charles across the cheek, waking the mutant up.

"What are you doing?" Charles winced at the slurring quality of his voice.

"Making sure you don't hurt anyone else, like you hurt your Mother." Charles followed Marks' figure as the man fiddled with the line going into his vein. "Your Mother would be disappointed with you, Charles. Taking the collar off was dangerous for everyone. I saw what you did to those people in the café. You're dangerous. Too dangerous to have control of your powers."

"You're wrong." Charles argued, wincing at the loudness of his own voice in his ears.

"I'm not but don't worry, you'll see the truth soon enough. Just like you did before." Mark told Charles, injecting something into the IV. Charles felt his eyes drifting shut and he panicked a little, trying to stay awake. Instead he ended up falling once more into the blackness.

…**..**

"We need a plan." Logan's voice rose, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. Ever since Azazel had appeared with Charles' location they'd been arguing about the best way to gain entry.

"We have one. Get the Professor out of there." Alex said.

"That's not a plan, its' a goal. We can't just attack the place, it won't work." Hank argued.

"Hanks' right, we can't just break in." Angel stated, getting a nod of agreement from Darwin.

"Then what are we going to do, Charles could be hurt by now." Raven groaned. She was still angry about what had happened and she was desperate to find Charles.

"Can't you use your usual plan?" Logan asked. He may not be involved with the other mutants breaking into the labs but he knew they nearly always used the same plan. Send Raven to get them in and take out anyone in there. Simple enough in Logan's opinion.

"Not without endangering Charles." Erik finally said, anger coming from his in waves as he thought of what Mark could do to Charles if he even caught them anywhere near him. "We can't attack head on."

"So, what do we do?" Sean asked.

Erik considered this for a moment before answering. "We can't let them know we're there."

…

Charles woke up on a table in a lab he recognised far too well. The room had been built by his Father when Charles was still a child and he'd spent a number of days here when his Father had still been alive and even more after his Father had died. It angered Charles to know that Mark had turned his Fathers' lab into his own. A bright light shone in Charles face, causing the telepath to blink repeatedly at the light.

"You're awake now Charles?" Mark's face appeared in front of Charles. "You know where we are yet?"

"Home." Charles bit out.

"Not your home, mine." Mark smiled a little and Charles glared at him, once more attempting to reach out for the mans' mind. This time he felt it but only enough to hear a few thoughts escaping Marks' mind. "The drugs are wearing off quicker than usual." Mark noted and Charles felt sick at the implications of that statement. Mark had used the drugs on other mutants. As he said this, Mark injected a needle into Charles arm and a cold sensation wrapped itself around Charles as the drug took effect.

He must have drifted off for a minute as when he looked up again, Mark wasn't the only one standing there. "I invented something just for you Charles." Mark was saying, pushing a metal table towards the edges of the table Charles was lying on. The telepath frowned, attempting to move himself before remembering he couldn't feel his legs. "This will go into your brain. It's an updated version of the collar and should work a lot better. If it doesn't kill you first. Of course you may lose everything about yourself after the operation but it is a prototype." Charles shivered, hating that he was powerless to move. Powerless to stop Mark from doing something to him.

A sharp prick caused Charles to flinch as a second needle was inserted into his vein. "This will keep you in place, you won't be unconscious throughout the process and it will be painful but I'm told it's for the best." Charles didn't believe that. He knew why his step-father wouldn't let him go unconscious for this but he wouldn't give the man the satisfaction of letting him see Charles in pain.

As it was, Charles' limbs had started to feel even more heavy as the drug took effect and Charles couldn't even lift his arm. That didn't seem to matter though as some of the men surrounding the table turned him so he was no longer lying on his back, tightening straps to his arms and legs. Charles wanted to struggle against the bonds but he couldn't move. Couldn't think straight. He'd lost his grip with reality with his telepathy and now he just couldn't focus.

The first incision came to the back of his neck. One painful incision probably done with some sort of scalpel that opened a long line across the back of Charles' neck. The pain was bearable, at least before someone wiped a cloth soaked in disinfectant across the wound. Charles tried to struggle away from the pain but he couldn't move. The drugs kept him from even being able to move his arms and even then, the bonds where stopping him.

"To clean the wound." Marks' voice drifted and Charles closed his eyes, wishing he'd fall unconscious already. Something was being inserted into the back of his neck and Charles felt his eyes roll a little as something scraped inside of him. Mark slapped him awake and Charles felt the tears prick at the edges of his vision as the pain came full force. He had no idea what was happening, what they were doing to him. All he knew was the pain. The pain and fear of what might happen.

"What was that?" A voice came to Charles' ears but Charles mind was reeling from pain and fear to fully comprehend the voices' words.

"I don't know." Marks' voice drifted and for a second the pain stopped. Then it started again and Charles lost all sense for a second. When he came back to reality, he heard Mark yelling at someone to check it out and lock the door. Lock the door, Charles couldn't understand why they needed to do that. It wasn't like Charles could move to begin with.

A loud bang came from up above Charles' head and the telepath frowned in confusion before a sharp pain rocked through his skull. It felt a little like drilling. His mouth opened in a silent scream as the pain racked through Charles' body, causing him to convulse a little, even against the bondages. Finally, Charles' eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell completely into numbing darkness.

**As always please review and thanks for reading :)**


	15. Chapter 15

Erik stood nervously waiting outside the mansion. It was a huge building, which made Erik feel a little uneasy. How where they supposed to find one mutant in a building like that? "They don't have many guards." Raven said, her form flickering to her usual blue one. "I saw 5."

"They could have more elsewhere." Erik retorted, getting a glare in answer. Not wanting an argument about Raven's guess, Erik didn't say anything more on the answer. He'd never been wrong before anyway and Erik didn't know why he was questioning her. Except he did. Because it was Charles, not some faceless, nameless mutant there.

"What are we going to do?" Raven asked, causing Erik to frown.

"Only 5, it's a small amount." Erik didn't like it. 5 men, it just seemed too easy.

"Don't question it bud." Logan growled and Erik could feel the other mutant's metal claws tipping Logan's knuckles.

"We can't risk them hurting Charles if we're wrong." Raven replied, getting a growl from Logan. Thankfully he dropped the matter.

Erik as silent for a moment before leading the way back to the plane Hank had designed. It was similar to a small jet with a built in stealth setting, something that Hank had tried explaining to them once before with little success. Usually Erik would have Azazel teleport them places but that only ever worked when there were a few of them. Right now, it seemed all the mutants Erik knew had come to help.

"Azazel." Erik said, motioning for the red mutant to come over. "I need you and Logan to disable the soldiers inside. Quietly." The last part was added unnecessary, seeing as Erik had already made it clearer to the mutants they couldn't make their presence known.

"What are we going to do?" Alex asked, a little put out about not going inside. Erik could see that the younger mutants were riled about what had happened to Charles, he was too, especially about Charles not allowing them to help. The difference between him and them, though, was that he was capable of keeping a level head. They were not.

"Stay put and if there's any trouble come and help." Erik replied, standing up to follow Azazel and Logan.

"That's not fair." Sean jumped to his feet, followed closely by the others'.

"We can't risk being seen and any more than necessary will bring unwanted attention." Erik growled but the others' just looked at him, refusing to move.

"You won't be any help to the Professor if you get yourselves noticed. Stay put." Logan gave the mutants a glare, causing Angel to back up a little. Unsurprisingly the others' didn't move.

"We're going in." Darwin stated, causing Erik to glare at him.

"You'll need me." Hank interrupted before Erik could say anything. "If Charles is injured you'll need me."

Erik sighed but nodded, knowing he couldn't argue with Hank's logic. "Fine, but no one else. Stay put unless something goes wrong." There were grumbles of complaint but what worried Erik the most was that Raven was silent. That didn't bode well for Erik's plan but there wasn't much he could do about it. Not when they needed to get to Charles.

…

Logan and Azazel went one way while Hank and Erik went another. They had no idea where Charles might be but Hank said it was most likely the labs were on the ground floor. It made Erik even angrier at the thought of Charles on one of the tables. The mansion wasn't anything like Erik expected. It was more like a house, albeit an unlived in, old, expensive house, but it definitely wasn't what Erik thought a scientist would conduct experiments.

It was eerily silent as Erik and Hank made their way down the back stairs. There was an elevator on each floor, making Erik frown as he passed them. Azazel had made sure to teleport them to the top floors of the house, so as to avoid meeting anyone who might raise the alarm. This meant they had to go down a number of steps, all of which creaked with disuse. Each time one step creaked, Erik would tense up, waiting for someone to come out and attack them.

Erik didn't get nervous, he didn't get panicked but right then he was because the possibility of being found to soon could very well mean the death of Charles. Something which he wasn't about to let happen. "This is the ground floor." Hank whispered, motioning to the front door. "Where do you think everyone is?" Erik shrugged, sincerely hoping Logan and Azazel had found any soldiers that might be lurking on the floor.

The two mutants walked through the ground floor levels, coming up empty in each room. They hadn't found anyone. "Azazel had the right place didn't he?" Hank asked, sounding a little defeated and Erik frowned because if they weren't in the right place then Erik didn't know where they might find Charles.

"It has to be." He replied, looking around the room they were currently standing in. It looked a lot like a library and Erik wondered who owned this place because whoever it was must be very rich.

A loud bang made both mutants start as the doors to library flung open. The man standing there was holding a gun, which Erik managed to bend easily enough. That didn't stop the man, though, as he came straight at them. Erik was just about to fling the man across the room, using the metal on the man, when Hank jumped in front of their would-be attacker and flung him across the room. The resulting crash made Erik wince. There would be no way they would go unnoticed after that.

…

As soon as Azazel had disappeared with Logan, Erik and Hank, Raven jumped to her feet. "We're going in."

"Erik said to stay here." Angel hissed but Raven ignored her.

"There's a back door around the side of the building. If you want to stay, stay. But I'm ging to help Charles." Raven stated, getting murmured agreements from the others.

Raven led them around the back of the house, keeping in the shadows even though there were no lights on inside the mansion. The back door was just like she'd left it after going in to scope out the mansion for Erik. Thankfully it was still locked. "Where do we start?" Sean asked, his voice low as Darwin slowly closed the door behind them.

They were in the kitchen. "Try to find the Professor." Alex answered, going to push the kitchen door open. The last thing any of them had expected, however, was to hear a crash coming from the front of the house.

"What was that?" Darwin asked as Raven started towards the door. The answer came soon enough as a group of men suddenly appeared in front of the kitchen door. They took one look at the 5 mutants standing in the kitchen before lifting the guns up to shoot.

Alex didn't waste a second as he blasted them using his mutation, knocking two to the ground as Sean opened his mouth to screech, causing the men to drop the weapons to the ground so as to cover their ears. Raven ran past them, pushing the men out of the way as she did so just as Logan appeared at the door. "Thought we told you to stay put." Raven shrugged in answer as another group of men came, following Logan.

The older mutant turned, flashing his claws out as the men came at him. One made a shot, hitting Logan in the shoulder. Logan grunted a little but otherwise he didn't stop moving, even as another bullet his hi stomach. This caused Logan to stop for a moment as the bullet pushed itself out of his chest. When it had, Logan ran at the man who had shot him, plunging his metal claws into the mans' chest. Raven didn't stick around any longer, running blindly in the opposite direction. She needed to find Charles.

…

The noises from the other parts of the house were getting louder and Mark was starting to panic. Nothing was going as planned. No one was meant to come here, no one was even meant to know about this place. Charles was still lying unconscious on the metal table, the surgical equipment scattered around. Blood was coating his step-sons' neck and a metal rod was half sticking out of the incision in Charles' neck. It was meant to have gone all the way in, to stop the brain waves that signalled Charles' power. Mark knew it would work to stop the telepathy. Stop his step-son from being able to control people with a thought, stop him from hearing the thoughts.

Ignoring the sounds from above and the nervous looks from the scientists in the room, Mark pushed the surgeon out of the way. He needed to finish what he'd started. The metal rod wasn't overly big but it needed to be inserted into a specific part of the brain, to press down on the part where Charles' telepathy came from in order to shut it off. The process was a delicate one, one slip up could kill Charles and Mark didn't want that. He wanted the boy to suffer, not die. The surgeon's hands were shaking, his eyes darting back towards the door where the noises had increased considerably. Mark couldn't rust him to do this, he would have to.

The blood dripping from the incison in Charles' neck was starting to coat the metal and it slipping in Marks' fingers until he got a better grip of it. Charles shuddered as the metal rod was inserted further into the boys' body but he didn't regain consciousness. A shame in Marks' opinion but it didn't matter. The pain would be the same, whether conscious or not. Of that Mark was sure.

**This chapter got a little away from me so I'm going to split into two parts so as to not let the chapter get too long. Also, for the last part I have no knowledge of medical procedures and everything written was made up in my mind so if it is wrong in any way I apologise but it's fiction anyway so…..**

**As always please review and hope you enjoyed **


	16. Chapter 16

Erik and Hank met Raven at a step of stairs, which were hidden from view. The only reason Erik had even noticed them was because men had started running from them. "What are you doing here?"Erik asked, not happy that Raven hadn't listened and stayed put.

"Doesn't matter, we need to find Charles." Erik couldn't disagree and from the sounds coming down the hall, he guessed the others' had things in hand.

Taking the lead, Erik searched around for all the metal around him. The stairs led down to a sort of basement and from what Erik could tell, the rooms down below were made of mostly metal. Labs, most likely, Erik thought to himself as the three of them reached the bottom of the steps. There was a large door at the end of the hall but that wasn't where Erik's focus was.

Noises were coming from inside the door on the right and Erik could vaguely make out an erratic beeping coming from inside. Reaching for the metal inside the door, Erik pulled the door from its' hinges, revealing the inside of the room. A shout came from the now open door as 3 men in lab coats came running out. Hank threw one across the room as Erik used the metal on their' clothes to get rid of the other two as Raven ran inside.

Mark Warren was standing in the room, in front of a metal table where Erik could vaguely see Charles lying on. "Who are you?" The man asked, raising a sharp surgical knife that may have been dangerous if not for the fact it was covered in metal. Erik lifted it from the mas' grasp with ease, causing Mark to pale. "Who are you?" He repeated as Raven went to push him out of the way. Mark grabbed raven by her arm, twisting it and causing her to yell out in pain.

Hank growled beside Erik, running at Mark and pushing him off Raven who whimpered in pain as she clutched her arm, which was now hanging at an odd angle. Erik glared, pulling a piece of metal towards Mark so he was trapped in a corner. This man didn't deserve to die quickly, Erik resolved as he rushed to the table Charles was lying on.

Charles was pale and limp on the table with an assortment of wires attached to him, but that wasn't what made Erik's anger boil over. The base of Charles' neck was covered in drying blood and something metal was faintly poking out of the slice across the neck. "What is that?" Erik asked, his voice oddly calm and even.

"I don't know." Hank replied, sending a filthy look at mark as he bent over Charles' still form.

"What is it?" Erik said, walking over to Mark. He pushed the metal bar further towards Mark, crushing the man in place. Mark struggled to get away but Erik wouldn't allow that, his anger rising as the man struggled.

"Erik, don't. I need to know what he did to Charles." Hank said, putting a restraining arm on Erik's shoulder. This pulled the mutant out of his angry haze as he stopped pushing the metal further towards Mark.

"Tell us what you did."

"Why should I? You'll kill me anyway." Mark grunted, his hands still on the metal bar.

"I could kill you quickly or not. That depends on what you say next." Erik replied, his voice low and threatening. He meant what he said and Mark knew it because he went suddenly very pale. "What did you do to Charles?"

"Nothing he didn't deserve." Mark spat, causing Erik to push the metal bar so it pressed hard on Mark's chest. The man was struggling for breathe, something Erik didn't care a lot about. "Alright, I'll tell you. Just stop please." Erik didn't move for a minute, letting the man suffer until finally releasing the grip on the metal just enough for Mark to be able to breath properly again. "It's a new system we were working on to stop the telepathy."

"What does it do?" Hank frowned, going into his Doctor mode.

"The rod pushes on a part of the brain I believe to have caused the telepathy."

"You believe." Erik spat, anger coming in waves at the implications of that statement. He knew Charles had gone through some sort of mutant experimentation but he didn't know the extant. To think these men had messed around in Charles' brain made Erik seethe.

"How far did you get?" Hank asked, ignoring both Erik and Raven who were quietly contemplating how best to kill Mark Warren.

"Almost done."

"Can it be reversed?" Raven asked, fear towards Charles obvious in her tone.

"Take it out, the damage you'll do doing so might just be irreparable." Mark grinned, causing Erik to lose all sense of calmness. He brought a piece of metal over to mark Warren, using it to knock the man unconscious.

"Is he right?" Erik glared straight at Hank, refusing to believe what Mark had said.

"Maybe but the same could have already happened." Hank explained, once more walking over to Charles. "The brain shouldn't be messed with because extreme problems can occur."

"You don't need to explain Hank, just fix him." Raven grabbed a hold of Hank's arm then.

"What do you need?" Erik asked then, making sure Hank knew he would get anything he needed. Erik would make sure of that.

"We can't move him and I'll need space." Erik nodded. Raven looked like she wanted to protest but she didn't, moving from the room after whispering something in Hank's ear. "I also need your help Erik." The other mutant frowned, wondering what help he might be. "The rod's metal and I might need your help to pull it out." Metal. Erik could do that.

…**.**

Raven collapsed on one of the ornamental chairs in the hallway. She'd made it up the stairs before being completely overwhelmed about what she'd heard. Raven might not be a scientist but she's heard of what happened to people with brain damage and that was what Hank had been talking about. That was what could have happened to Charles.

"What happened?" Alex appeared in front of Raven who just blinked owlishly at him. "Raven, are you alright? Did you find the professor?"

"Yes, Charles is…Hank and Erik are going to make sure he's alright." She said. Hank was the best doctor she knew, he wouldn't let Charles die. He'd make sure he was okay.

"Do they need us?" Alex asked and Raven shook her head. "What happened to Mark Warren?"

"Downstairs, Erik's dealing with it. Hank said we needed to…" She trailed off, not being able to finish but Alex nodded his head in understanding.

"I'll pass the word on. You going to be okay?" Raven nodded, watching as Alex disappeared around a corner. She would be fine, the question was, would Charles?

**Nearing the end of this Fanfic now, just a few more chapters left. As always please review and thanks for reading :)**


	17. Chapter 17

It had been nearly 3 hours since they'd first found Charles and they still hadn't heard anything. Angel, Darwin and Azazel had disappeared about an hour ago as the first two had word and Azazel was the only one of them who didn't know Charles so saw no reason to stay longer than necessary. Logan had also disappeared though Raven knew he would be around somewhere, most likely keeping an eye out for anyone who might try to attack them. Raven, Alex and Sean were sitting on the floor by the front door with a set of cards Sean had scavenged from somewhere though none of them were concentrating on what was going on.

Erik had appeared from the basement 2 hours previously, dragging a subdued Mark along with him. Raven didn't want to imagine what Erik had done to Mark but she could guess and she couldn't care. "How long does it take?" Alex finally said, jumping to his feet. "It's been hours; surely they must have finished by now."

"The Professor can't be that hurt, can he?" Sean asked and Raven shivered, remembering what Charles had looked like before. Pale, unconscious and Raven didn't even want to think about what those men had been doing to Charles to make him so unresponsive and so obviously in pain.

"Hank didn't say how long it would take." Raven answered and Alex collapsed back on the floor. They were all desperate to know what was going on but neither Erik nor Hank had emerged yet. That had to be a good sign, though; it meant Charles was still alive.

…

Charles felt like he was dreaming. The whole world was blurred around him, coming through in fogs and shapes. Reaching with his mind, Charles was able to get glimpses of a thought before drifting again. Nothing ever solidified as if Charles was the only real thing in his mind. There was a discomfort near the back of his neck but he was glad of it. That was the only thing that kept him anchored.

He'd always had an amazing reach with his telepathy so when it was first taken from him he had felt disconnected from the real world. As if Charles was looking through a one way mirror at everyone outside. Now, that feeling was back except he could still feel thoughts. But not thoughts exactly more like lights in Charles' mind which showed he wasn't completely alone. The words were jumbled or muffled. Nothing ever settled in one place, not even the pain he remembered feeling in what felt like another life time.

When a sharp jolt hit his neck, Charles tensed and he might have made some sort of noise because it was hard to tell when he couldn't even be sure what was happening around him. "Charles?" Erik's voice drifted through both Charles' mind and hearing but Charles ignored it. Erik couldn't be here, Erik was safe. Charles had made sure of that, made sure none of his friends could follow him and get hurt because of him. They couldn't be here.

…

"He moved." Erik suddenly said, making Hank look up from where he was standing. "He twitched." Erik stated.

"It could just be a reaction." Hank replied, though he secretly hoped it wasn't. Any sign that Charles was aware of what was happening, while possibly resulting in pain for the Professor, could mean Charles was alright. "I need you to get the rest of the metal out."

Erik didn't move for a second but when he did, Hank could see his reluctance. Hank had managed to move the metal rod a little out but his hands weren't as steady as they needed to be and hank knew Erik's control was better suited for this than himself.

The metal-bender didn't say anything but Hank could tell that Erik was having second thoughts about this. "It needs to come out but I can't do it." Hank stated which seemed to pull Erik to the present.

Erik kept a hold of the metal in Charles' neck for a minute, making sure he knew the width, the length and any abrasions in it. He knew that one small slip up could cause irreparable damage, which was what was making him so nervous. Finally, Erik started to slowly pull the metal. It was slow going but finally the metal outside the base of Charles' neck started to lengthen. Part of it was blood covered but Erik tried to ignore that, focusing on the metal rather than what he was doing. The rod was flexible, something which Hank had already mentioned but Erik made sure it didn't move unless he needed it to.

He had no idea how long it took to get the metal out but when he and had moved away from Charles so Hank could look at the injury, Erik crushed the metal rod into a small ball and threw it across the room. It landed in the place Mark Warren had been sitting up until Erik had dragged him out of the basement and the mansion. He'd killed the man, not as slowly as he would have liked but the result was the same. Mark Warren was dead. Erik had no idea where the body was, having told Azazel to get rid of it, but he didn't care. Not after what that man had done to Charles.

Finally, Hank stepped away from Charles. A white bandage stood out starkly against the telepaths' neck, a small red line appearing. "I couldn't stitch it at least not yet. I'll change the bandages later." Hank stated and Erik didn't ask the whys or what Hank had done. He didn't need to know, all he needed to know was that Charles was alright.

"When will he wake up?" Erik asked.

"I don't know." When Erik didn't answer, Hank continued. "I'm going to go and see Raven."

"Make sure they get some sleep, you too Hank. I'll stay with Charles." The other nodded, leaving the two alone in the room.

…**..**

"How is he?" Raven asked as soon as Hank emerged, throwing herself into his arms. Hank was exhausted but he managed a small smile for Raven.

"Is he going to be alright?" Alex asked, quickly followed by Sean as they came over to him.

"I don't know." Hank replied because he really didn't. The damage that Mark's experiment could have caused could very well mean that Charles might die but hank didn't know if there even was any damage.

"Is Erik down there?" Hank nodded in answer. "So we're staying the night?" Raven asked and hank nodded his head again.

At that moment Logan came into view, frowning at the three of them. "Get some sleep; you'll be no use like this." Logan grunted, going to sit on one of the armchairs near the front door.

"But…." Sean started to protest but Logan cut him off.

"Erik's with the Prof, I'll stay up here. Find and room and sleep." Knowing there was no point in arguing, they followed Logan's instructions. It took a while for them all to fall asleep that night but the adrenalin the fighting had caused was quickly disappearing and they soon ended up sleeping.

…**.**

Charles came into awareness rather abruptly. A brain near him was projecting rather loudly, making Charles' unconscious self-toss around as it tried to escape the terror in the other's brain. It didn't really matter that Charles couldn't fully see what the other was thinking as the actual feelings coming from it was enough to make Charles'' eyes fling open.

Waking was a bad idea it seemed, as his neck started to burn as if someone had taken a hot knife and was pressing it against Charles' neck. He tried to move away from the pain but that didn't work as when he moved white hot agony went through his whole body. His eyes started to flutter close when Erik's face came into view. The panic there was obvious but Charles didn't have the energy to say anything as he let the darkness claim him once more. If only to escape the pain for a little while more.

**Last two chapter's coming up. As always please review and thanks for reading :)**


	18. Chapter 18

Erik woke in a cold sweat. He'd been dreaming about Shaw, something which in itself wasn't uncommon considering what the man had done to him. The difference with this dream was that it wasn't him on the table, t was Charles. Charles being poked and prodded and hurt as Shaw stood over him, cruelty clear in the older mans' eyes. And Erik had watched, unable to move and unable to do anything to help his friend.

"Are you alright, my friend?" Charles strained voice carried to Erik's ears and the mutant froze, not quite believing that Charles was awake. "I assure you my friend, I am very awake. And alive. Something I think I have you and Hank to thank for." Yes, Charles was awake. The telepath's bright blue eyes were looking straight at Erik, although he could clearly see the strain in Charles' eyes.

"How are you feeling Charles?" Erik jumped to his feet, quickly assessing the way Charles looked. His friend was still far too pale for Erik's liking but at least he was awake.

"Not brilliant, I have to admit, though I am better than I was before." Charles' eyes were slowly drifting closed only to blink suddenly open as if Charles remembered he had company. "Perhaps we could continue this conversation another time?"

"Of course, get some sleep."

"You look like you need some to Erik." Erik shook his head but Charles frowned in answer, struggling to get up into a sitting position. Quickly, Erik pushed Charles back down again, not wanting his friend to strain himself.

"You need to sleep." Charles didn't argue, his eyes already closed and before Erik could say anymore the telepath was once more sleeping.

…**..**

The next time Charles woke up it was to Raven sitting by his bed, reading to him. There was a sharp pain in his neck and the minds around him where slightly blurred but otherwise he felt fine, something that surprised him greatly. Although he didn't remember much about what Mark had done to him, he did remember the other man being there. "Charles, you're awake." Raven shouted, making Charles cringe a little at the loud noise. "Sorry, I'll go and get Hank." Before Charles could say anything, Raven had run from the room.

He must have drifted off again as the next thing he knew Hank was standing over him. "How are you feeling Chares?" Hank asked.

"Fine." Raven glared at Charles from over Hank's shoulder, making Charles revise his previous statement. "My neck is a little sore and I'm a little lightheaded." Hank frowned, taking out a light and raising an eyebrow at Charles as if asking for permission to continue. Charles nodded, wincing as the light was shone into his eyes.

"Your pupils are acting normally, any headache?" Charles nodded, feeling the beginnings of a migraine coming. They had always been common for Charles, having to deal with so many brains in his head at one time especially when he couldn't control the flow of information when younger tended to cause headaches. "I can get you a pain killer. What about your telepathy?"

Charles frowned, reaching with his mind to touch that of Hank and ravens. They were there and Charles could pick up the basic brain signal coming from them even if they were a little faint. When he said as much to Hank, the scientist frowned and said, "It should come back properly eventually but I don't know what lasting effects there could be."

"What happened?" Charles suddenly asked, wanting to know what had happened to him. Both Raven and Hank looked at each other before Raven started to talk. She told him about what happened in the café, anger plain in her tone when she said Charles had frozen them in place. While he remembered this, he listened, wanting to know exactly what had happened so as to fill in the gaps in his memory from what happened in his time with Mark. Hank explained what the scientist had been trying to do to Charles, causing the telepath to wince at the thought of his telepathy being taken from in such a ruthless way.

"You okay Professor?" Hank asked, causing Charles to drag himself away from his thoughts.

"A little dazed maybe but fine, I think." Raven frowned but didn't say anything else.

"We can get you somewhere more comfortable so you can sleep better if you want?" Charles nodded thankfully, allowing Raven to help him from the table and into his wheelchair. He was surprised to find it still in working order but was glad all the same. It was surprisingly hard to find wheelchairs' that were comfortable and workable.

"We should probably leave as soon as we can." Raven started but Charles asked her to stop with a thought. While there were obvious changes in the mansion, it still looked just like the way he had seen it as a kid. "This was your home?" Raven asked and Charles blushed, realising he'd projected this last thought to Raven.

"I grew up here." Charles answered. "I don't think anyone will bother us for a while, no one ever did know about this place and I don't believe Mark would have said anything." Charles said, his mind drifting a little. His step-father had always liked his privacy and Charles knew from experience when asking to bring friends over, that the man didn't like strangers knowing about his home. It was one aspect of Mark Charles was almost gratefully for. His privacy could mean Charles might actually be able to use the mansion without people knowing of its existence.

By the time Raven wheeled him into a room, Charles' eyes were once more drifting shut. His thoughts on a comfy bed which might be able to soothe the aching of his body. Hank appeared, giving him a drink of water and a pill and as soon as his head hit the pillow, Charles was once more asleep.

…

"You need to talk to Charles." It had been nearly a week since Charles had first woken up and in that time, Erik had been avoiding the telepath.

"Raven…" Erik began but Raven cut him off.

"Don't, Charles wants to talk to you." She stated. They'd moved back to the apartment building just the previous day, Hank having finally said that Charles was alright to move although the blue furred mutant hadn't recommended leaving the apartment unsupervised yet. As it was, Raven was nearly always circled Charles keeping the Professor in bed or at least in his apartment.

"I know." Erik finally said. He had been avoiding Charles after the younger had woken up simply because the memory of what Charles had done to them in the café was still plaguing his mind. While Erik knew Charles wouldn't go in his head, the fear was still there. Erik thought of his mind as his own and didn't want or need Charles going through it and while the telepath had morals, what Charles had done in the café had shown that the telepath had a scary amount of power. Even Erik, who wasn't afraid of anything, thought Charles' power had the potential to be terrifying.

…**.**

Charles was a little annoyed at Raven, if he was being completely honest. She had found him wandering his apartment, making tea, yesterday morning and had yelled at him before moving his wheelchair out of his reach so he was effectively stuck in bed until someone came to move it for him. Sure he could have made Raven stop but he had seen the surface thoughts of Raven, and everyone else in the apartment building and their thoughts hadn't been particularly positive about what he had done in the café.

Of course Charles understood why he had frozen them and he imagined the other mutants understood too. The problem was, they hadn't realised that Charles had the ability to do that and while not scared of him, they were a little wary. Even Erik, who hadn't visited yet.

That particular though made Charles feel a little guiltier than the others because he had promised never to go into Erik's mind or control the man in any way. He had broken that promise and even though Erik had come to help him, Charles still felt as though Erik may be mad at him. Something that Charles didn't blame him for at all.

A soft knock came at the door before it was paused open, breaking Charles from his thoughts. "Hello Erik." Charles spoke as Erik walked into his room.

"Charles, you're looking better." Erik didn't look overly comfortable as he stood there.

"I am feeling better, though I would be a lot better if Raven hadn't force me to stay in bed." Charles glowered at the wheelchair which was sitting by the door. Erik laughed at the look that crossed Charles' face, breaking the tension in the room.

"Chess?" Erik asked and Charles nodded, motioning for Erik to bring over the chair so he could move. "No, we'll play in bed. I'm not incurring Raven's wrath for no reason and you need your rest." Charles glared at Erik but resigned himself to being stuck in bed a little while longer.

Soon the two were in the middle of chess, talking as if nothing had happened. Except something had and Charles could feel the tension brewing at the edges of Erik's mind. "You want to talk about it?"

"I thought I told you not to go in my mind." Charles blushed but didn't lower his gaze from Erik's.

"You're broadcasting. What's wrong?" Erik seemed hesitant to answer so Charles moved his Queen on the chess board, waiting for Erik to answer.

Finally, Erik started to speak. "What you did the café, why did you do it?"

"I…" Charles paused, considering his answer. This was Erik though, nothing but the full truth would do. "I didn't want any of you to get hurt."

"We could have handled ourselves."

"I know but if someone had gotten hurt, helping me, I couldn't have lived with that." Erik frowned, considering what Charles had said as the game of chess lay forgotten. "I know I promised not to go into your head but you have to understand, Mark was dangerous and I couldn't have seen any of you hurt. Not on my behalf."

"I killed him." Erik blurted.

"I know, Raven told me." Charles replied. He had felt neither sad nor angry at the thought of Erik killing Mark, just nothing. "Thank you."

"He deserved it…."

"Not for that." Charles cut in. "For getting me out of there before Mark did something permanently damaging or killed me. I've thanked everyone else but not you. So thank you Erik."

"You're our friend." Erik said but Charles saw he accepted the apology from the gratefulness coming from his mind.

"I am sorry for what I did at the café but…"

"Don't, I would have done the same if that were me." Erik replied and Charles saw the truth behind his words. "None of us realised you were that powerful though." Charles blushed again.

"I don't like to use too much of my telepathy but when I have to there isn't a lot I can't do." At that, Charles half expected Erik to get up and run but Erik only shrugged, returning to the chess game.

"I do believe you have me beat." Erik said, causing Charles to laugh.

"I do believe I do, my friend."

**Final chapter will be an epilogue which should be up in the next day or so. As always thank you for reading and please review. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Final chapter so thank you for everyone who reviewed, favourited, followed and read my story. I hope you enjoyed it :)**

**Epilogue – 6 months later **

Charles was sat on the terrace, watching the sun rise over the gardens at the Westchester mansion as he had done every day since returning home. It had been a long 6 months since the incident with Mark Warren but Charles had never felt so happy in far too long. The court case that allowed him to get control of his estate once more lasted a little over 4 months but Charles had managed to get everything back. His friends had come to the court cases and given evidence of Charles' competency so as to allow him to gain control of his estate. Suffice to say, Charles wouldn't be sitting here if not for them.

Mark Warren's funeral had been an interesting affair and one Charles could have easily missed. There had been an enquiry as to his death but the police had been unable to find any concrete evidence, possibly because Charles had made the overlook said evidence. After everything Erik had done for Charles, it seemed only fair to the telepath that he should return the favour.

Christopher, Mark's son, had been livid to find out his Father was dead and naturally blamed Charles. However, the man was still in prison so Charles didn't need to worry about him for a while at least.

Once Charles had returned to the manor, he had set to work disbanding the labs Mark Warren had been using to experiment on mutants. Between his own influence on said labs, which he found where mostly in buildings owned by his late Father, and the other mutants experience at destroying the labs, they had been able to free all the mutants trapped there.

After that, Charles had had to make a decision as to what to do with the estate. He had always wanted to open a school in the mansion and after explaining the idea to Erik, over one of their many games of chess, the other members of the apartment building had found out. Of course, Sean and Alex had jumped at the chance for Charles to start a school and had particularly forced him to.

It took another moth for him to fill in all of the relevant paperwork but finally the mansion was made into a school for mutants. Hank had mentioned a design for something called Cerebro at this time and between the two of them, they had managed to build it in the lower parts of the mansion. Once that was done, Charles was able to start finding mutants all over the world. There were so many of them and Charles had been amazed at it. Of course not all of those he went to wanted to come to the school but a large number had.

When they started to come, Charles realised that he had no one but himself to teach him until Raven picked up on his distress and moved into the mansion with Hank in tow. The other mutants soon followed, even Logan and Azazel. The last to come had been Erik. Charles hadn't been overly surprised at Erik's reluctance, seeing as the older mutant hated to be tied down anywhere, preferring to make his own way in life. But eventually, Erik had turned up at the mansion's front steps and soon it was as if he'd always been there.

There first student had been Scott, Alex's younger brother, and soon after came Jean and Ororo and then more mutants. Charles enjoyed teaching them, something which didn't surprise him. He'd spent some time teaching the other older mutants how best to control their powers, with the help of Hank's scientific knowledge.

The old lab had been ripped down by Erik, possibly in the other mutants' temper but Charles didn't mind. He didn't want anything of Mark Warren marring their new home, because it wasn't just his home now. It was all of theirs home. Hank now had a new lab and Raven and Alex insisted on making a gym. While the mutant was large, a lot of the children did have to share rooms however there was still enough for the older ones' to have their own rooms. Something Erik, Logan and Azazel were pleased about.

"What are you doing out here?" Erik's voice carried out into the terrace, interrupting Charles' daydream. The sun had risen fully now and when he looked at his watch, Charles realized the children would be waking soon.

"I lost track of time." Erik didn't answer, coming to lean on the terrace next to Charles.

"You do this every morning." Erik finally asked, disturbing the silence. Charles nodded in answer. "Why?"

It took a moment for Charles to think of an appropriate answer but finally he spoke. "I always did this when I was younger and its' something I've missed after not being here when I was younger." Erik nodded, accepting the answer. Charles felt the buzzes of waking minds not 5 minutes later, causing him to laugh quietly as the mutants within the household slowly woke up. "I believe it's time we went inside."

Erik glowered, making Charles laugh louder. "As long as they behave themselves and clean up after themselves."

"They're children my friend I don't think they can help themselves." Charles replied, remembering the morning before when Erik had come into the kitchen after waking to find it a complete mess, thanks to the children.

Erik looked at Charles before turning to walk back into the house and saying, "You're the professor here not me."

**Thanks for everyone who read this story and please review also I'm considering a sequel to this so that may come up sooner or later, depending on how motivated I am to write it :)**


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